* Hot days will push energy demand to record levels
* Heat will add to water stress in cities
* Reusing wastewater is key to future water shortages
By Bhaskar Tripathi
NEW DELHI – Rising temperatures and expectations of more hot days in 2026 are expected to put new pressures on India’s electricity and water grids, new research shows, highlighting how extreme heat is increasingly putting pressure on the country’s infrastructure.
The India Meteorological Department has warned that many parts of the country may see hotter than average days this summer.
Researchers at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water, a Delhi-based policy think tank, said rising temperatures are already leading to higher demand for electricity for cooling, while also increasing pressure on urban water supplies.
The increasing demand for electricity comes at a time when India, which imports about 90% of its oil and 60% of gas, is struggling to meet its energy needs due to the war with Iran.
Heatwaves are not only a health crisis, but they are also a stress test for India’s urban electricity grid and water systems.
Record temperatures expected
In 2024, India’s hottest year on record, electricity demand reached a peak of about 250 gigawatts in May, leading to power outages across the country. Peak demand was about 4% lower in 2025, roughly 240 gigawatts in early June last year.
Researchers say India’s energy demand in 2026 is already exceeding expectations, with hot weather arriving earlier than usual after the world recorded its fifth-warmest February on record.
The International Energy Agency says cooling already accounts for about 20% of India’s peak electricity demand.
Peak electricity demand could rise to about 260 gigawatts this summer due to unseasonably warm weather, said Disha Agrawal, program manager at CEEW.
This level of demand is greater than the entire electricity generation capacity of many medium-sized countries.
India has about 500 gigawatts of installed power generation capacity, about half of which is from non-fossil sources, led by solar and wind energy, in addition to hydro and nuclear energy.
But non-fossil sources generate only about a quarter of the country’s electricity, with solar and wind power producing power intermittently, while coal plants operate continuously and dominate the energy supply.
While gas accounts for only about 2% of total power generation, India uses about 8 gigawatts of gas power during periods of peak demand or heatwaves.
To meet peak summer demand at a time of geopolitical instability, the Indian government has asked coal plants to operate at full capacity and defer maintenance, while planning to use renewable energy to supply daytime needs.
Clean energy goals
Volatility of renewable energy, limited battery storage and aging grids continue to pose major challenges to India’s electricity system, the researchers said, adding that extreme heat could further stress infrastructure.
“Rapidly scaling up clean energy will be critical to meeting India’s growing energy demand reliably and affordably,” Agrawal said.
India may need to increase non-fossil fuel capacity to about 600 gigawatts by 2030 if electricity demand continues to grow faster than expected, it said.
Extreme heat is also intensifying pressures on India’s water systems, especially in cities where fresh water supplies are limited.
India currently treats only about 28% of the wastewater it produces, according to the Central Pollution Control Board, leaving most cities without effective systems to reuse treated water for industry, agriculture or other non-drinking purposes.
Nitin Passi, a fellow at CEEW, said India could reuse more than 31,000 cubic meters of treated wastewater annually by 2047 if supported by investment and policy reforms. This is equivalent to about 30 times Delhi’s annual water consumption.
“Expanding the reuse of treated wastewater is one of the most practical ways to water-proof Indian cities,” Bassi said.
Many states and cities are beginning to prepare for higher demand for heat and water. In Delhi, authorities expanded tanker fleets, monitoring systems and emergency water centers as part of a summer action plan aimed at addressing seasonal shortages and high consumption.
Climate change is reshaping heat patterns across the country. More than half of India’s regions, home to about 76% of the population, are vulnerable to extreme heat, according to a CEEW study last year.
Experts say many cities are still relying on short-term responses such as cooling shelters, water kiosks and health advice rather than the long-term infrastructure changes needed to deal with continued rising temperatures.
This article was generated from an automated news feed without any modifications to the text.
