Link to article: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/indian-heat-wave-disrupts-industrial-activity-power-demand-soars-2022-04-28/
India is in the midst of its worst electricity shortage in over six years at the same time as a brutal heat wave is sweeping South Asia. March was India’s hottest on record, causing their Prime Minister to warn of increasing danger of fires. Temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, have been above 104 Fahrenheit for several days and are predicted to linger around 111 Fahrenheit until Sunday. Peak summer temperatures are still yet to come. As a result of this extreme heat, schools are being canceled, hospitals are setting up wards for heat stroke, and factories are scheduling power cuts to help manage electricity usage. These power cuts are disrupting industrial activity; economic activity in India only recently began revitalizing after COVID-19. Now that the economy is striving to get back on its feet and heatwaves are barraging the country, electricity demand is rising the fastest that it has in almost four decades.
India’s struggle to handle this problem may be in part due to their enormous population and the amount of energy they must consume. Foreign investment could help revamp their economy and support the demand for energy during this crisis. They are working on a trade deal with the UK at the moment, this could come into play since these heat waves occur every year. India also still trades with Russia. Since Russia is limited economically by sanctions right now, they would likely be eager to trade with India for resources that could help combat this heat wave. India also trades a fair amount with the US; any investment that brings the two together as allies would benefit both countries and bring India away from trade with China, which could be good for the United States.
India is rationing electricity as best it can and is able to do so because it has a federal system of government. Being such a large and mountainous country, this system of government is beneficial by letting various states within the country largely govern themselves, allowing them to handle this problem somewhat better than a centralized government. India’s head of government is a Prime Minister who leads by consensus. Given that India’s ecumene is most concentrated in the north of the country, where the heat wave is hitting hardest, it is not surprising that power is being used in substantial amounts.