Drought caused global hydropower drop in early 2023

Dry conditions, particularly in China, caused a "historic" global drop in hydropower generation in the first half of 2023, a new analysis shows, highlighting the effects of climate change. The research by renewable energy think tank Ember argues the drop is a "warning shot that hydro output could negatively affect the speed of the electricity transition". The group said global hydropower generation fell 8.5 percent in the year to June, more than any full-year decline over the last two decades. Three-quarters of that decline was the result of falls in China, which baked through record temperatures earlier this year. Between winter 2022 and spring 2023, most areas of southwest China experienced significantly less precipitation and higher temperatures than in a normal year, according to Beijing's ministry of emergency management. The fall in hydropower output meant global carbon emissions rose very slightly in the first half of 2023 worldwide. Lower growth in electricity demand helped keep the rise in emissions smaller than it might otherwise have been, Ember said.

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