Power failures leave 300 million Indians in the dark

A massive power outage in northern India blacked out 300 million people, disturbing trains and traffic light systems, reports The Globe and Mail:

Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said the entire northern grid collapsed for six hours shortly after 2:00 a.m. local time, causing chaos in nine states including the capital New Delhi.

While most hospitals and airports were able to function on emergency power, officials said it was the worst outage in over a decade.

A system overload was likely the cause for the blackout. By 8 a.m., the grid was brought back online, but it was only running at 6 per cent capacity.