India's Daytime Electricity Demand Breaks All Records Amid Heatwave, Govt Issues Appeal

India's

daytime electricity demand has surged to record highs over the past four days as a severe heatwave continues to grip large parts of the country, prompting the Centre to urge citizens to use power judiciously. In an advisory issued on Friday, the Ministry of Power said peak daytime electricity demand touched 270.82 GW on May 21, the highest ever recorded so far this summer. The ministry noted that electricity demand has been consistently breaking previous records due to rising temperatures and increased cooling needs across households and commercial establishments.According to the data shared by the ministry, daytime peak demand was recorded at:

• 257.37 GW on May 18
• 260.45 GW on May 19
• 265.44 GW on May 20
• 270.82 GW on May 21

The ministry said peak daytime demand is usually observed between 2 pm and 4 pm.While assuring that adequate arrangements have been made to meet the rising power demand, the government appealed to consumers to use electricity “wisely and judiciously” during the intense summer period.

Severe heatwave conditions likely to prevail over parts of India: IMD

Heatwave to severe heatwave conditions are likely to persist over the plains of northwest India, Central and East India, and parts of Peninsular India during the next six to seven days, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said on Friday. The IMD stated that heatwave conditions are likely in isolated areas of Uttar Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh from May 22 to May 28."Severe heatwave conditions over East Uttar Pradesh and East Madhya Pradesh are expected during the same period," the IMD said.It added that heatwave conditions are very likely in isolated/some pockets over Punjab and Haryana, Chandigarh, and Delhi from May 22 to May 28.Severe heatwave conditions are predicted in some areas of these regions between May 24 and May 27."Heatwave conditions are very likely in isolated/some pockets over Rajasthan during May 22-28, with severe heatwave conditions likely in isolated/some pockets over West Rajasthan during May 24-28," the IMD said.Parts of Vidharbha, Coastal Andhra, Yanam, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Odisha, Telangana, Jammu-Kashmir, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttarakhand are likely to witness heat wave or severe heat wave conditions on different dates between May 22 and May 28.Furthermore, warm night conditions are expected in isolated pockets of Uttar Pradesh and Vidarbha from May 22 to May 24, in Odisha from May 22 to May 26, and in Telangana on May 22 and May 23.(With PTI inputs)