Heatwaves drove 1/3rd of rise in India's power demand during 2024 summer: Report

INDIA's electricity demand during the severe heatwave months of April to June 2024 rose to 19.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period the year before, with increased use of air conditioning contributing nearly a third of the rise, according to a new report released on Tuesday.

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The sixth edition of global energy think tank Ember's Global Electricity Review also said heatwaves were responsible for almost a fifth of the increase in global electricity demand in 2024 and were the main reason behind a 1.4 per cent rise in fossil fuel-based power generation.

This led to 1.6 per cent increase in global power sector emissions, adding 223 million tonnes of carbon dioxide and pushing total emissions to a record high of 14.6 billion tonnes.

Without the heat-related demand, fossil generation would have grown just 0.2 per cent, as clean energy met 96 per cent of the demand growth not caused by hotter temperatures, said the report.

In India, electricity demand during AprilSeptember 2024 was 6.1 per cent higher compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Ember estimated that 33 per cent of this rise was due to higher temperatures.