India records first heatwave of 2026 as spring fades

INdia recorded its number one widespread heatwave instalment of the yr on wed, with terrible conditions sweeping across Gujarat’s Saurashtra and Kutch region, as experts warned that the shrinking window between winter and summer is becoming a pattern driven by climate change.Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions prevailed at many places over Saurashtra and Kutch and at a few places over the Gujarat region, while isolated heat wave conditions were reported over Vidarbha, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) said. Although isolated heatwave conditions were reported from Vidarbha earlier this month, Wednesday marked the first episode of widespread heat over the western parts of the country.An anti-cyclone over Rajasthan is driving dry and hot winds towards Gujarat, causing subsidence of air over the region, said Mahesh Palawat, vice president, climate and meteorology, at Skymet Weather. He added the pattern has become recurrent. “We have been seeing this happen in the later part of March over some parts of western India.”More striking, Palawat said, is the disappearing spring. “It is almost over. The transition from winter to summer is very quick,” he said, pointing to a trend visible in recent years.Maximum temperatures were in the range of 38–42°C at many places over Gujarat, West Rajasthan and Vidarbha, at a few places over Madhya Pradesh and Marathwada, and at isolated places over Chhattisgarh and Odisha. In Delhi, maximum temperatures ranged between 35–38°C. Day temperatures were markedly above normal — exceeding the average by more than 5.1°C — at most places over Haryana-Chandigarh-Delhi, West Rajasthan and East Rajasthan, and at many places over Punjab, Gujarat, Saurashtra and Kutch. Temperatures were appreciably above normal — by 3.1°C to 5.0°C — at many places over Sub-Himalayan West Bengal and Sikkim, and at a few places over Madhya Maharashtra and Coastal Karnataka.“Such heat wave episodes in March are normal and we had forecast it well in advance,” said M Mohapatra, director general, IMD. Heat wave to severe heat wave conditions are likely to continue over Gujarat till March 13, while isolated heavy rainfall is expected over Arunachal Pradesh during March 12–14 and over Assam and Meghalaya during March 13–15, the weather department said.IMD defines a heatwave when the maximum temperature reaches 45°C in the plains or when daytime temperature exceeds the normal by 4.5°C.The early onset of heat carries significant implications for India’s power infrastructure. This summer, heat may be as intense as or worse than 2024, which was the warmest year on record for India and globally, and power demand is expected to surpass last year’s levels, experts said.The predictions holds significance at a time India’s energy imports -- the country depends on overseas suppliers for 85% of its oil and gas requirements -- have been hit by the conflict between Iran and the US and Israel. A petroleum and gas ministry official on Wednesday said 25% of the current gas requirement has been hit.Grid India’s Short Term Resource Adequacy Assessment for 2026-27 projects peak demand of over 260 GW between April and June. “We hit 250 gigawatts in May 2024. This year, it’s expected to range in between 267 to 280 gigawatts in the months of April to June. So yes, we expect to cross that record,” said Disha Agrawal, senior programme lead at the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW), speaking at a workshop on the challenges of extreme heat and the growing demand for power and water. She was referring to Grid India’s projections.The Grid India report identifies summer and early monsoon months — April to July 2026 — as the most critical period for system adequacy, driven by high demand, reduced surplus margins and elevated forced outages. During this window, minimum surplus remains close to zero, particularly during non-solar hours, indicating very limited operational buffer once solar generation is unavailable, the report states. This is where gas-sourced electricity, though a small portion overall, is crucial. Gas-based generation contributes primarily as a peaking and balancing resource, with dispatch concentrated during non-solar hours.