Landfalling tropical cyclones significantly reduce Bangladesh's energy security

Abstract. Bangladesh's rapidly expanding, yet fragile, electricity grid is highly exposed to tropical cyclones. However, the operational impacts of these storms on the power system are not well quantified. Here, we combine daily metered electricity demand data for Bangladesh's nine power zones with meteorological and hazard datasets over the last decade. We find that landfalling tropical cyclones cause an average 20 % reduction in national electricity supply, with coastal zones disproportionately affected, experiencing drops of up to 38 %. Analysis of case studies shows that high winds, storm surge, and extreme precipitation are all key contributors to these outages. While Bangladesh imports power from neighbouring West Bengal (India) to strengthen security, we show that cyclone impacts are often correlated across both regions, limiting the reliability of this backup during major events. We highlight the need for continued investment in climate-resilient energy infrastructure in the region, as well as adaptation to such extremes, which are projected to become more severe with climate change.