India’s electricity demand during the severe heatwave months of April to June 2024 rose by 10.4 per cent compared to the corresponding period the year before, with increased use of air conditioning contributing to nearly a third of the rise, according to a new report released on Tuesday.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 a 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 April-September 2024 was 6.1 per cent higher compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Ember estimated that 19 per cent of this rise was due to higher temperatures.
During the peak heatwave months from April to June, the demand was 10.8 per cent higher than the previous year.
“This was primarily driven by economic growth, with air conditioning accounting for an estimated 30 per cent of the year-on-year increase. In May, cooling was responsible for more than one-third of the year-on-year demand increase,” the report said.