London (CNN Business) Global energy use has been dealt such a huge blow by the coronavirus pandemic that it's like wiping out demand from all of India, a country of 1.3 billion people and the world's third biggest consumer. That's according to the International Energy Agency, which said in a new report Thursday that demand for energy could crash 6% this year if lockdowns persist for many months and the economic recovery is slow. Demand for electricity is poised to plunge 5% in 2020, the largest fall since the Great Depression. "This is a historic shock to the entire energy world," Fatih Birol, executive director of the Paris-based agency, said in a statement. Oil demand in particular could drop 9%, erasing eight years of growth.

Source: CNN April 30, 2020 04:06 UTC