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What’s happening?
- India is facing its worst electricity shortage in more than six years just as scorching temperatures force early closures of schools and send people indoors.
- Extreme heat parched large swathes of South Asia this week after India’s hottest March on record, Prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to warn of rising fire risks as the country heats up too much too soon.
Rising mercury
- In the capital New Delhi, temperatures have soared past 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days and are forecast to linger around 44C until Sunday,
- With peak summer heat still to come before cooling monsoon rains arrive in June.
- Maximum temperatures recorded in six districts in West Bengal were at least five degree Celsius above normal, weather officials said, with the lack of rains in state capital Kolkata adding to its worries.
- People in Odisha state in the east set up stalls at prominent public places to offer water to those passing by.
- Its neighbour West Bengal has announced summer school breaks from next week, days ahead of schedule.
- Health officials in the western state of Gujarat made arrangements to tackle a potential spike in patients.
Power cuts
- Local authorities in the worst-hit states are struggling to juggle power cuts and growing pressure on health services.
- Power cuts last anywhere between two to 16 hours — such as in parts of J&K, which faced a power shortage of 11.62% in the past week, Second only to Jharkhand which faced a shortage of 17.28%.
- States like Rajasthan, Gujarat and Andhra Pradesh have imposed power cuts on factories as demand for air conditioners and fans has gone up several notches.
- In the northwest, Rajasthan has scheduled four hours of power cuts for factories, making it at least the third state to disrupt industrial activity to manage surging power demand.
- “In view of the present power crisis, .. it has been decided to impose scheduled cuts,” a state utility said.
Worst in 6 years
- Peak-power demand in India surged to a record high on Tuesday, and is seen rising by as much as 10% next month, the power ministry said this week.
- Electricity supply fell short of demand by 1.88 billion units, or 1.6%, during the first 27 days of April, the worst monthly shortfall in over six years.
- Power cuts in five states, including Rajasthan and Haryana in the north and Andhra Pradesh in the south, were the worst in over six years.
Impact on industries
- Industrial disruption and widespread power cuts are bad news for corporate India, as economic activity has just started to pick up after months of stagnation amid coronavirus lockdowns.
- Power cuts are expected to worsen in the coming days as the heatwaves and a pickup in economic activity are seen increasing electricity demand at the fastest pace in nearly four decades.
- The unprecedented heat puts millions of blue-collar workers, including construction and farm labourers and those working on factory shop floors, at great risk.
- Sunstrokes have claimed thousands of Indian lives over the years.
Coal shortages
- India is currently facing a shortage of coal for its power plants.
- The leap in power demand has left India scrambling for coal, the dominant fuel used in electricity generation in the country.
- Coal inventories are at the lowest pre-summer levels in at least nine years.
- Delayed payments to coal companies, such as by Jharkhand and Maharashtra, have only exacerbated the problem of coal supplies.
- Last week, the thermal power plant in Punjab’s Goindwal — which generates 540 MW of power — had to be closed as it was left with just a half a day’s stock of coal.
Train shortages
- A shortage of trains to transport coal is exacerbating a fuel supply crisis.
- India’s power secretary said this week that train availability was 6% lower than required.
- The situation is so dire that the Centre has cancelled movement of certain passenger trains in order to make way for faster movement of coal carriages.
Q) When an oil well is drilled through rocks, which of the following comes out first?
- Coal gas
- Marsh gas
- Natural gas
- Carbon dioxide
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