Climate and China fears are bringing South Asia’s countries closer

FOR MUCHGWGWMW of June the 23m people in and around Dhaka, Bangladesh’s capital, suffered in temperatures of up to 38°C. Fans and air-conditioners were of little use—the country experienced power cuts on 114 of the first 150 days of this year. Just 500km to the north, the Himalayan republic of Nepal faced the opposite problem. The country’s demand for electricity tops out at 1.7 but generation capacity—almost entirely from —peaks at 2.8. Officials have been telling power plants to cut production to avoid destabilising the grid.The imbalance may soon start to be corrected. A trilateral deal between Bangladesh, India and Nepal, expected to be finalised in weeks, would see some of Nepal’s surplus electricity flow to power-starved Bangladesh via India’s transmission infrastructure, starting with a modest 50. Sceptics dismiss it as a rounding error in Bangladesh’s shortfall. At peak times demand exceeds supply by up to 25%, according to analysis by Reuters. Yet to focus on the amount of power coming in from Nepal is to miss the point. That it is happening at all is a breakthrough in a region where neighbours have for decades. Observers hope this deal will lay the foundation for a more integrated energy market in the region.