6 months ago
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Over the decennary from 2015 to 2024, India has witnessed a pronounced and persistent warming trend, with the yearly mean somesthesia expanding from 25.37° Celsius successful 2015 to 25.74° Celsius successful 2024. The second stood retired arsenic the hottest twelvemonth connected grounds successful the state since nationwide measurements began successful 1901.
These were the revelations made successful the November, 2025, report, ‘Breaking the Cycle - Can India flight the heat-power request trap?’ by Climate Trends, a research-based consulting and capableness gathering initiative, and Climate Compatible Futures, a consulting start-up.
The authors, Manish Ram, Rahul Kumar, Sachin Pratap, and Ujjwala Sahay, mentioned however India’s yearly maximum temperatures person accrued steadily crossed astir States from 0.1° Celsius to 0.5° Celsius during the past decade. The Indo-Gangetic portion witnessed persistent somesthesia rises, with summertime peaks often exceeding 45° Celsius and an unprecedented 52.3° Celsius recorded successful Mungeshpur (Delhi) successful 2024.
Heatwaves
The study stated that cardinal and eastbound States specified arsenic Madhya Pradesh, Jharkhand, and Chhattisgarh faced much than 500 heatwave days during the decade, portion the northbound Indian States, including Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, and Haryana, were identified arsenic the astir affected regions, exhibiting the sharpest increases successful summertime somesthesia surges.
Traditionally cooler regions specified arsenic Uttarakhand (11.2%) and Ladakh (9.1%) besides registered the highest percent increases successful yearly summertime temperatures, portion the fig of days with temperatures supra 40° Celsius roseate sharply successful the second fractional of the decade, with 14 States signaling a 15% summation successful summertime vigor strength successful the decade, it said.
Uttarakhand notably witnessed a spike successful heatwave frequence successful 2024 - 0 successful 2023 to 25 successful 2024.
Impact connected powerfulness demand
This persistent warming has straight translated into record-breaking energy demand, reaching astir 250 GW during the summertime of 2024, mostly owed to surging cooling needs crossed residential, commercial, and concern sectors, the study pointed out. India’s energy request roseate by 9% during the highest heatwave months of April-June 2024, arsenic compared to April-June 2023.
According to the report, Uttar Pradesh recorded the strongest linkage betwixt somesthesia and energy consumption, with highest request surging from ~14.2 GW (2015) to ~25.5 GW (2024).
“Despite important advancement successful renewable vigor deployment, India’s energy strategy continues to trust heavy connected fossil fuels to conscionable highest request during heat-intensive months. Over the decade, installed powerfulness capableness accrued from 285 GW to 461 GW, a 62% summation - driven chiefly by accelerated additions successful star (from 5.3 GW to astir 98 GW) and upwind (from 24 GW to 48 GW). However, ember remains the foundational basal of India’s powerfulness system, increasing from 170 GW to 219 GW and inactive accounting for the bulk of generation,” it said.
Fossil-based procreation roseate from 873 BU to 1,327 BU, sustaining precocious emissions during summertime peaks. In contrast, renewables present correspond 46% of installed capableness but lend lone 21% to existent generation, highlighting the request for storage, flexibility, and grid modernisation. This imbalance is astir disposable during the summertime months erstwhile the request for cooling peaks arsenic star procreation declines successful the evening.
Key recommendations
Among the cardinal recommendations of the study are integrating clime projections into vigor planning, processing district-level request and vulnerability maps, strengthening agrarian vigor entree done decentralised star microgrids and assemblage cooling centres during vigor emergencies, enhancing municipality vigor preparedness by enforcing chill extortion programmes, expanding shaded and greenish spaces, and establishing solar-powered cooling shelters.
It besides called for reforming Heat Action Plans (HAPs) from short-term exigency tools to integrated energy–climate resilience frameworks, embedding energy request forecasting, renewable vigor adoption, and equity-based assets allocation, and accelerating vigor retention and request flexibility.
INFOBOX
Major highlights:
Over the decennary from 2015 to 2024, India has witnessed a pronounced and persistent warming trend.
The yearly mean somesthesia accrued from 25.37°C successful 2015 to 25.74°C successful 2024. 2024 stood retired arsenic the hottest twelvemonth connected grounds for the state since nationwide measurements began successful 1901.
The mean summation successful maximum temperatures has gone up by astir 1.41% implicit the past decade.
