Harmonic currents and electrical flaws responsible for rising electrical fires in India

According to a report by The Hindu, electrical flaws and harmonic currents have emerged among the hidden causes behind devastating electrical fires in India. In recent times, fire accidents are no longer limited to industrial units, firecracker factories, and heavily crowded places, but are now occurring in our neighborhoods, hospitals, and high-rise buildings, and these disasters are almost always caused by electrical fires.

According to the Delhi Fire Service, more than 80% of fires in the capital are attributed to electrical faults. The Mumbai Fire Brigade has cited the same as the cause for nearly three out of four incidents after analyzing 26,855 cases over five years. New Delhi alone has seen a 37% increase in residential fires this year compared to last year, with approximately 70% of those fires found to be caused by short-circuiting, faulty wiring, overheating, and overloaded circuits. The National Crime Records Bureau recorded 7,566 fire accidents and 7,435 deaths in the year 2022, with short circuits consistently remaining one of the single biggest causes.

Several examples of these fire incidents have come to light. Shortly after 3.48 am on May 3, 2026, a fire broke out in a four-story building in Vivek Vihar, east Delhi, resulting in the deaths of nine people, with the suspected cause being an AC blast or short circuit. In November 2024, ten newborns died in a crowded NICU in Jhansi, a unit built for 18 children where 55 children were housed. In August this year in Amravati, three newborns died not from the flames, but due to smoke inhalation, even though the fire was doused within 30 minutes. Two days prior to that, a newborn died in Chhindwara. In March this year, ten patients died at the SCB Medical College in Cuttack when a short circuit occurred in the trauma-ICU air-conditioner at 3 am, catching fire in the oxygen-rich ward.

The report proceeds to state that on April 25, India's power demand reached 256.11 gigawatts, which is nearly double the early 2010s peak against a weather temperature of 47 degrees. ACs draw about 50 gigawatts during peak hours. Estimates suggest that in the next 10 years, the AC load will reach 180 gigawatts. Indians bought more than 15 million air-conditioners in 2025 alone, and the International Energy Agency expects the installed base to grow from 93 million units in 2024 to 240 million by 2030.

The electrical systems of older buildings are unable to withstand the heavy current drawn by air-conditioners, resulting in burning wiring. What is called an AC blast is the explosion of the refrigeration's overworking compressor due to intense heat caused by overworking. The investigation of these fires has been hindered by a shortage of certified fire forensic investigators. Often the causes are dismissed as a blast or short circuit. The root cause analysis and systemic remedies are rarely formulated.

An electrical circuit has three parts. The load is what draws current, which may be just a light or an air-conditioner. The wiring carries that current, insulated to prevent two conductors from touching. The protection device, usually a miniature circuit breaker, is meant to cut off the flow of current whenever something goes wrong. The circuit breaker cuts off the current for a short circuit in about a tenth of a second or, in a longer window, from a minute to an hour, for a sustained overload. A fire requires two simultaneous failures: something goes wrong in the load or wiring, and the protection device fails to trip in time.

A 2025 peer-reviewed review in the Journal of Fire identifies six recurring failure modes behind that first failure: short circuits, overloads, loose or oxidised connections, series and parallel arc faults, ground faults, and equipment aging. Of these, a loose connection is often the quietest killer.