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- India is experiencing an extreme heatwave with March and April temperatures hit 122-year highs.
- The scorching weather has caused a surge in electricity demand for cooling and irrigation.
- Electricity demand has outstripped supply, spurring India to buy discounted Russian LNG.
An extreme heatwave in India is causing power cuts and outages, leading the country to buy discounted liquefied natural gas (LNG) from Russia.
India has been experiencing extreme temperatures in the last two months, with March and April temperatures hitting 122-year highs in parts of the country, reported the Times of India, citing the country’s meteorological department.
In the capital of New Delhi, temperatures topped 110°F for several consecutive days last month, CBS reported. Even at night, the mercury has not dipped below 86°F, the news outlet added.
The scorching weather has sent residents rushing to turn on fans and ACs, while farmers are cranking up water pumps for parched fields. The surging demand for power came as industrial activity started picking up after the country lifted all pandemic-related restrictions on March 31.
“Many regions have been unable to meet high levels of early peak demand on a sustained basis, leading to extended power outages, state-imposed power cuts, and widespread train cancellations,” analysts at risk consultancy Eurasia Group wrote in a note last week.
The demand has depleted fossil-fuel supplies in India, forcing the country to top up its energy with LNG on the spot market, India’s Economic Times reported last week.
As Russian LNG is now shunned by most international buyers due to sanctions and boycotts over to the Ukraine war, it’s priced at a discount to current market rates — making the fuel more attractive to Indian buyers, Bloomberg reported on Monday, citing traders.
Even so, India is still paying about triple the regular LNG spot price for this time of the year, India’s Economic Times reported last week. LNG prices in Asia are at record highs on the back of the Ukraine war, according to S&P Global.
Gas accounts for just 4% of the India’s electricity generation in 2020, according to Bloomberg.
India has not overtly condemned Russia or imposed sanctions against the country for the war in Ukraine.
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