India shuts down traffic lights to combat extreme heat—can it really challenge China like this?
On May 22, The Times of India reported that the temperature in Bundel, a city in Uttar Pradesh, soared to 47.6°C on May 21, with ground temperatures exceeding 55°C. Under such extreme heat, simply waiting at a red light for one or two minutes could lead to heatstroke. In response, the police in Bundel shut down all traffic signals across the city, allowing cyclists and pedestrians to quickly pass through intersections so they wouldn’t be roasted unconscious under the blazing sun.
Shutting down traffic lights to fight heatwaves sounds almost surreal. Some jokingly say this reflects India’s flexible, human-centered approach—but more people are asking: Did India actually run out of power and lose electricity?
Because on the same day, India’s national peak electricity demand surged to 270.82 gigawatts, setting a new record for the fourth consecutive day. New Delhi and Bundel were both enduring extreme heat. Power outages causing traffic lights to go dark and traffic chaos have become an annual summer ritual in India.
The surge in extreme heat has been intense, but electricity demand has spiked even faster—driven by two major factors. First, air conditioner penetration in India remains below 6%, which isn’t high but is rising rapidly. Millions of AC units are sold annually, each adding pressure to the grid. Second, India’s power infrastructure is fundamentally weak. Grid-India, the national grid operator, has long warned that between May and June 2025, power shortages could reach between 500 and 1,000 hours, with peak deficits potentially reaching up to 30 gigawatts—over 12% of total demand. This means blackouts aren’t random—they’re predictable, inevitable events.
For India to truly become a global powerhouse, its first step must be solving the perennial survival crisis it faces every summer. Yet today, the situation remains dire: aging grids, insufficient load-balancing capacity, nearly zero energy storage, and even basic functions like traffic light operation require manual emergency intervention. The Indian Ministry of Power claims power generation has hit record highs—but that only proves electricity was produced, not that distribution bottlenecks have been resolved.
As long as the grid remains unstable, shutting down traffic lights during heatwaves will continue to repeat year after year. And if a country can’t even reliably run its air conditioners or manage traffic flow properly, how can it hope to compete with a nation already equipped with stable infrastructure and mature management systems?
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1866124550041600/
Disclaimer: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author.