Govind Ram, a junk dealer living on the outskirts of the Indian capital, Delhi, bought an air conditioner in May after his children pleaded with him.
A fiery heatwave was scorching the city and its neighbourhood, and his school-going children complained of “choking” heat.
Using his savings, Mr Ram bought the air conditioner for his children’s bedroom. This relief, he says, has come at a cost – his electricity bill last month soared to seven times the usual amount, reports BBC.
“I’ve endured the worst summers under just a fan. But this year, my children suffered so much that I had to buy our family’s first air conditioner,” Mr Ram said.
Over the past five decades, India has faced over 700 heatwaves but this summer’s severe and unrelenting heat has to count among the worst, experts believe. Some 97% of Indian households are electrified, with 93% relying on fans for comfort, according to think tank Council on Energy Environment and Water (CEEW). But this year, India’s air conditioning market has surged like never before.
“In my 45 years in the air-con industry, I've never seen anything like this. The spike in demand is a complete surprise, with sales likely to more than double this summer compared to last year,” says B Thiagarajan, managing director of Blue Star, a leading cooling and refrigeration Company.
