NEW DELHI, INDIA – APRIL 27: People are seen taking shelter from the sun on a hot summer day at Raisina Hill on April 27, 2026 in New Delhi, India. Delhi-NCR was hit by severe heatwave conditions with maximum temperatures reaching between 42 degrees Celsius and 45 degrees Celsius across the region. (Photo credit: Raj K Raj/Hindustan Times via Getty Images)
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India, the world’s third-largest carbon emitter, is burning more coal as demand for the dirty fuel increases due to disruptions to energy supplies caused by the Iran war and a nationwide heat wave.
More than 70% of India’s electricity is generated by coal-fired power plants, and energy experts told CNBC that that share is expected to increase this year.
India announced in February that over 52% of its total installed power generation capacity comes from non-fossil fuel sources, with the majority coming from solar, hydro and wind power. However, coal-fired power plants remain the main source of energy, accounting for almost 43% of total power generation capacity.
India’s coal-fired power generation rose to 164.9 gigawatts in April from an average of 160.7 gigawatts last year, according to data shared by S&P Global Energy. Coal-fired power generation increased by an average of 5.6 gigawatts (3.5%) in April, the data showed.
About 4% of India’s installed power generation capacity is gas-fired and runs on liquefied natural gas, about 60% of which is imported through the Strait of Hormuz.
The amount of coal burned increases
Girish Madan, director of corporate ratings at Fitch Ratings in Singapore, said rising liquefied natural gas prices are making gas-based power generation uneconomical. “Coal-based electricity will therefore have to share a higher burden during the summer peak period,” he added.
In India, demand for electricity is increasing as temperatures rise due to a heat wave. On April 27, all 50 of the world’s hottest cities are in India, according to data compiled by New Delhi-based air quality and temperature monitoring platform AQI.
“Heatwave conditions exceeding 40-45 degrees Celsius in several parts of India are driving up electricity demand,” Andre Lambin, head of short-term power and renewables research for Asia Pacific at S&P Global Energy, told CNBC via email.
He added that gas-fired power generation had rebounded in the last weeks of April but remained “on average 1.5 gigawatts below 2025 levels, highlighting the continued displacement of gas by coal in the electricity mix.”
He said if the climate impacts of El Niño worsen, “coal-fired power generation in India could increase by 10% year-on-year.”
The Indian government said in a statement on May 2 that relatively high temperatures are expected this month, which could result in “heatwave conditions over parts of northwestern, central and western India and the east coast.”
NEW DELHI, INDIA – APRIL 26: People step outside at Humayun’s Tomb during a hot day on April 26, 2026 in New Delhi, India.
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Firat Elgene, lead analyst for Coal, Petrocoke and Cement Insights at Kpler, said demand for coal is primarily driven by the power sector, but other industries also rely on fossil fuels.
He told CNBC that additional demand is coming from industries such as cement producers.
The supply of petroleum coke, which is burned as fuel, has been disrupted by conflicts in the Middle East, causing prices to soar. This has led cement companies to replace pet coke with coal, Elgene explained.
India last month pledged to reduce its economy’s emissions intensity by 47% by 2035, in line with its goal of becoming a net-zero country by 2070. India is the third largest carbon emitter in the world after China and the United States.
India’s carbon dioxide emissions are still rising, but last year’s rate of increase was the slowest in more than 20 years, according to an analysis by the Center for Energy and Clean Air Research, a policy think tank.
