New Delhi, April 10 -- April 10:Power demand in India surged in March as the temperature rose and the demand from industrial and commercial consumers soared, according to a Crisil Intelligence report released on Thursday. The mean monthly temperature was 25.5 degrees Celsius, above the 30-year (1991-2020) normal of 24.71 degrees Celsius.

Western and eastern central India witnessed 1-5 heatwave days during the month. As a result, power demand rose 6.9 per cent, around 50 per cent higher than the full-year average of 4.3 per cent. In the western region, power demand grew 10 per cent over last year as several regions in Gujarat witnessed six days of heatwaves.

The report highlights that seasonally adjusted India PMI, a proxy to estimate t...