Tens of millions sizzle in India’s severe heatwave

July 2, 2021: Tens of millions of people in India were hit by a severe heat wave on Friday, causing temperatures in Delhi to reach a nine-year high as monsoon rains lag behind schedule.

Hate waves have killed more than 6,500 people in the world’s second most populous country since 2010, and scientists say climate change is making them harder and more frequent.

Daytime temperatures in Rajasthan, Haryana and New Delhi were above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for the fourth day in a row on Friday. Large parts of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh were also withering in Central India. New Delhi recorded 43.1 degrees Celsius on Thursday, the hottest July day in the city since 2012 when it crossed 43.5 degrees Celsius in the capital. On Friday, temperatures rose again to 41 degrees Celsius in 20 million cities. Temperatures have dropped above normal by seven degrees Celsius for this time of year, forcing the Indian Meteorological Department to classify it as “extremely hot”.

India’s Meteorological Department says the mercury will remain above 40 degrees Celsius for the coming week due to the late arrival of the southwest monsoon and hot winds blowing from the desert states of Rajasthan and Pakistan.

The weather department has issued a heatwave alert for the region, with forecasters also saying some isolated places will witness thunderstorms.

The intense heat has driven up power consumption as more and more people turned to air-conditioners and air coolers. Delhi’s power consumption peaked to nearly 7,000 megawatts (MW) this week, 10 to 15 per cent higher than the average demand at this time of the year.

In Punjab in the north, authorities announced a two-day weekly closure of industrial units and reduced office hours for its employees after electricity demand topped 15,000 megawatts due. Forecasters predict that the annual rains will not hit New Delhi before July 7, making it the most delayed monsoon in the national capital since 2006.

The deadliest year for India was 2015 when over 2,000 were killed by intense heat.

Currently, just five per cent of Indian households have air conditioning compared to 90 per cent in the United States and 60 per cent in China. But the market is forecast to boom in the coming years, driving up energy consumption in what is already the world’s third-largest emitter of carbon dioxide. The refrigerants inside AC units also exacerbate global warming, while the heat that the machines generate make cities even hotter.

The country of 1.3 billion people also suffers from severe water shortages with tens of millions lacking running water. Parts of Delhi and elsewhere regularly see scuffles when tankers arrive to deliver water. In 2019 Chennai made international headlines when the southern city ran out of water entirely.

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