Letter from Nikkei Asia's editor: India's climate crisis

Hello from Tokyo, where it has been hot and humid, as is usual for this time of year. Today's rain has had a cooling effect, but the summer heat earlier in the week has strained the electricity supply in some areas. Heatstroke warnings are being issued regularly, and tragically there have already been some deaths.

Unusually hot weather is of course not limited to Japan; it is happening all over the world. India is also experiencing a hotter-than-usual summer, and energy demand is skyrocketing. In this week's Big Story, we explore how the country is responding to its escalating power needs.

The extreme heat has slowed hydropower generation there, leading to increased reliance on coal-fired power generation. India is one of the largest coal-producing countries, and as the government seeks to expand mining to meet growing energy demand, local residents are expressing mounting concern about the negative environmental and health impacts.

In neighboring Pakistan, more people are installing solar panels in the face of frequent power outages and high electricity bills, our Asia Insight feature tells us. One local vendor said he has seen an exponential increase in sales of inexpensive panels, mostly imported from China.

In Japan, too, solar panels have been spreading rapidly since the March 11, 2011, earthquake and tsunami, which triggered growing interest in renewable energy. Panels last an estimated 20 to 30 years, so a mass disposal is expected to occur in Japan around 2035. How to promote the recycling of these panels will likely become a major issue.

Returning to the topic of India, our Business Spotlight feature in this week's magazine examines how fast-delivery apps are impacting brick-and-mortar neighborhood retailers. Living