As temperatures soared above 45°C in South and Southeast Asia in recent weeks, governments faced challenges in meeting unprecedented electricity demands due to the widespread use of air conditioning.
Over a dozen people from India, Malaysia, and Thailand have died from the extreme heat. To address the urgent public health challenge, policymakers are increasingly dependent on fossil fuels.
In April, there was a notable rise in natural gas demand from countries such as Thailand, Bangladesh, and India, commodity analyst S&P Global reported. Asia has also seen a significant increase in imports of Russian coal and fuel oil in recent months, Bloomberg’s data analyst reported.
