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Summer Heat
The world's major cities are now experiencing a quarter more very hot days every year on average than they did three decades ago, according to a new analysis published on Tuesday. Researchers at the UK-based International Institute for Environment and Development (IIED) examined temperature data from 43 key cities, including the 40 most populous capitals, dating back to 1994. They found that the number of days above 35 degrees Celsius (very hot days) in these cities rose by 26 per cent over the 31-year period, climbing from an average of 1,062 annually between 1994 and 2003 to 1,335 between 2015 and 2024. Delhi, one of the cities where the population has grown by at least half since 2013, is among those facing worsening heat stress. The analysis warns that residents of informal settlements in cities such as Delhi are particularly vulnerable to sustained high temperatures because of poor housing and infrastructure. The study shows 2024 recorded the highest number of very hot days,
About 57 per cent of Indian districts, home to 76 per cent of India's total population, are currently at 'high' to 'very high' heat risk, according to a new study. According to the study published on Tuesday by Delhi-based climate and energy think-tank Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW), the 10 states and union territories with the highest heat risk include Delhi, Maharashtra, Goa, Kerala, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh. It also found that the number of very warm nights has increased faster than that of very hot days in the last decade. Very warm nights and very hot days are defined as periods when minimum and maximum temperatures rise above the 95th percentile threshold, i.e., what was normal for 95 per cent of the time in the past. As part of the study, CEEW researchers developed a Heat Risk Index (HRI) for 734 districts, using 40 years of climate data (1982-2022) and satellite images to study heat trends, land use, wa
India's diesel consumption rebounded in April, recording a 4 per cent increase in demand after months of low or negative growth, driven by the start of summer season with warmer days and nights. Diesel, India's most consumed petroleum fuel and lifeline of transport and rural agri economy, saw just 2 per cent growth in demand in fiscal year ended March 31, 2024 and no growth at all in the preceding financial year. In April, diesel consumption rose to 8.23 million tonnes, up nearly 4 per cent over demand in the year ago period, according to latest data available from the Petroleum Planning and Analysis Cell of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas. The consumption was 5.3 per cent more than April 2023 and 10.45 per cent higher than the previous Covid-2019 period. Onset of summer triggers rural demand for irrigation as well as for air-conditioning in urban areas. The 4 per cent rise in April 2025 is the highest recorded volume for this month and second highest ever volume in any ...
Intermittent rainfall in south India and recent thunderstorms with moderate rain in some parts of north and eastern regions have slowed down the pace of sales of room air conditioners in April, but the industry is still expecting a double-digit growth with recent weather forecasts suggesting an intense summer. Manufacturers of room air conditioners (RAC), including Blue Star, Samsung, and Haier, are also going for a price increase of up to 5 per cent in April, extending the impact on raw material costs and currency exchange fluctuations amidst macroeconomic volatility. Besides, the room AC industry is still dependent on imports of crucial components such as compressors, PCBs, and fan motors, mainly from China, and is anxiously looking at the tariff standoff triggered by the Trump administration. Despite such odds, the RAC industry expects a double-digit growth in the June quarter, the season contributing a large chunk for sales of compressor-based cooling products, over the high bas