NEW DELHI, India: As scorching temperatures forced the early closures of schools and sent people indoors, India is facing its worst electricity shortage in more than six years.

This week, extreme heat has affected large swathes of South Asia, and India recorded its hottest March on record, leading Prime Minister Narendra Modi to warn of fire risks.

Temperatures in the capital, New Delhi, hit over 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit) for several days, and are forecasted to linger around 44C for a number of additional days.

Weather officials said maximum temperatures recorded in six districts in West Bengal were at least 5 degree Celsius above normal, noting the lack of rains in the state capital, Kolkata.

People in the eastern state of Odisha set up stalls at prominent public places to offer water to the public, while neighboring West Bengal has announced summer school breaks from next week, days ahead of schedule.

Health officials in the western state of Gujarat also made arrangements to tackle a potential rise in the number of heat-related patients.

Gujarat’s health secretary Manoj Aggarwal told Reuters, “We have issued an advisory to hospitals to set up special wards for heat stroke and other heat-related diseases due to the rise in temperatures.”

In the northwest, Rajasthan has scheduled four hours of power cuts for factories, making it at least the third state to disrupt industrial activity to manage surging power demands.

As economic activity has only started to recover after months of stagnation during COVID-19 lockdowns, industrial disruption and power cuts are bound to impact Indian industry.

As heatwaves and a pickup in economic activity are causing higher electricity demand at the fastest pace in nearly four decades, power cuts are expected to worsen in the coming days.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, since cities tend to be warmer than rural areas due to the heat trapping effect of buildings and other factors, daily wage earners and those in urban slums are among the most vulnerable to heat.

India previously faced a major power crisis in October, but the situation this month is more widespread, as more than half of the country is facing more power cuts than in October.