Extreme heat to test India's power supply

NEW DELHI — Rising temperatures and forecasts of more hot days in 2026 are expected to put fresh pressure on India's electricity and water systems, new research shows, highlighting how extreme heat is increasingly straining the country's infrastructure.

The India Meteorological Department warns that many parts of the country could see more hot days than average this summer.

Researchers at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, or CEEW, a policy think tank, said intensifying heat was already driving spikes in electricity demand for cooling while also increasing pressure on urban water supplies.

The rising demand for electricity comes at a time when India, which imports some 90 percent of its oil and 60 percent of its gas, is already struggling to meet its energy needs due to the Iran conflict.

Heat waves are not just a health crisis, but also a stress test for India's electricity grid and urban water systems.

In 2024, the hottest year on record in India, electricity demand reached a peak of about 250 gigawatts in May, leading to power outages across the country. The peak demand was about 4 percent lower in 2025, nearly 240 gigawatts in early June last year.

Researchers say India's power demand in 2026 is already exceeding projections as hot weather arrived earlier than usual after the world recorded its fifth warmest February on record.

Cooling already accounts for about 20 percent of India's peak electricity demand, the International Energy Agency says.

Peak electricity demand could rise to around 260 gigawatts this summer due to unusually warm weather, said Disha Agrawal, senior program lead at CEEW.

High demand

That level of demand exceeds the electricity generation capacity of many mid-sized countries.

India has about 500 gigawatts of installed power generation capacity, roughly half from nonfossil sources, led by solar and wind, along with hydro and nuclear power.

But nonfossil sources generate only about a quarter of the country's electricity, as solar and wind produce power intermittently, while coal plants run continuously and dominate the power supply.

While gas accounts for only about 2 percent of total power generation, India uses about 8 gigawatts of gas during peak-demand periods or heat waves.

To meet peak summer demand amid geopolitical instability, the Indian government has asked coal plants to run at full capacity and defer maintenance, while it plans to use renewable energy to meet daytime demand.

The variability of renewable power, limited battery storage, and aging grids remain major challenges for India's electricity system, researchers said, adding that heat could further strain infrastructure.

"Scaling clean energy quickly will be critical to meeting India's rising power demand reliably and affordably," said Agrawal.

India may need to scale up to about 600 gigawatts of nonfossil fuel capacity by 2030 if electricity demand continues to grow faster than projected, she said.

Extreme heat is also intensifying pressure on India's water systems, particularly in cities where freshwater supplies are limited.

India currently treats only about 28 percent of the wastewater it generates, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, leaving most cities without functioning systems to reuse treated water for industry, agriculture or other nondrinking purposes. In Delhi, authorities have expanded tanker fleets, monitoring systems and emergency water centers as part of a summer action plan.

Climate change is reshaping heat patterns across the country. More than half of India's districts, home to about 76 percent of the population, are vulnerable to extreme heat, according to a study last year.

Experts say many cities still rely on short-term responses such as cooling shelters, water kiosks and health advisories rather than the long-term infrastructure changes needed to cope with the ongoing rise in temperatures.

Agencies Via Xinhua