India, Oct. 8 -- Coal inventories at India's power stations are close to a five-year low, with plants equivalent to more than 40% of the coal-fired capacity left with just four days of reserves or even less, a level that raises the risk of widespread blackouts. Unusually warm temperatures and erratic rains have kept demand for cooling, irrigation and industry strong through the day well into October, a month when the weather should typically begin to cool. The supply of coal, meanwhile, has been disrupted by heavy rains and by continued bottlenecks in rail capacity. As of October 4, about 69 power stations - over two-fifths of India's coal power fleet - had fuel for just four days or less. That's the lowest since December 2021, during a post-pandemic energy crisis that hit India, as the return of industries ran down depleted stockpiles.P13...