Heatwaves drove 1/3rd of rise in India's power demand during 2024 summer: Report

India's electricity demand surged during 2024 heatwaves, with air conditioning contributing to a third of the rise.

India's electricity demand during the severe heatwave months of April to June 2024 rose by 10.4% 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 (April 8, 2025).

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% rise in fossil fuel-based power generation.

This led to a 1.6% 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 fuel generation would have grown just 0.2%, as clean energy met 96% of the demand growth not caused by hotter temperatures, said the report.

In India, electricity demand during April-September 2024 was 6.1% higher compared to the corresponding period in 2023. Ember estimated that 19% of this rise was due to higher temperatures.

During the peak heatwave months from April to June, the demand was 10.8% higher than the previous year.

"This was primarily driven by economic growth, with air conditioning accounting for an estimated 30% 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.