# How many litres are there in a tonne of diesel in India?

Canonical: https://senseible.earth/answers/litres-in-a-tonne-of-diesel-india

PPAC's conversion table gives 1,210 litres per tonne of diesel, measured at 29.5 C. To move that volume to the 15 C basis used on bulk invoices, multiply by 0.9879, which gives about 1,195 litres. That implies a density near 0.837 kg per litre at 15 C.

## The official figures

- Weight to volume: 1 tonne of diesel = 1.2100 kilolitres = 7.61 barrels (PPAC Ready Reckoner FY 2025-26, Table 9.2).
- Temperature: to convert volume at 29.5 C to volume at 15 C, multiply by 0.9879.
- PPAC notes that petrol and diesel figures are as per BS-IV norms.

## When to use it

Use it when a supplier invoices diesel in tonnes or kilolitres and you need the other unit, or to sanity-check a quantity. If the invoice or test certificate prints a density, use that instead: it describes your actual batch.

## Then to CO2

Once you have kilograms, multiply by the IPCC default of about 3.19 kg CO2 per kg of diesel. Working in mass avoids most temperature and density errors.

## Worked example

- Invoice: 12 tonnes of HSD.
- Volume at 29.5 C: 12 x 1,210 = 14,520 litres.
- Volume at 15 C: 14,520 x 0.9879 = 14,344 litres.
- CO2: 12,000 kg x 3.19 = 38,280 kg, about 38.3 t.

Illustrative quantity.

## What Senseible does here

Senseible reads the quantity and unit printed on each fuel invoice, converts it with a stated density or calorific value, and shows the factor and source on every line, so a litre or kilogram is never guessed.

- [Diesel kg to litres](https://senseible.earth/answers/diesel-kg-to-litres-conversion)
- [Bulk diesel invoice in kilolitres at 15 C](https://senseible.earth/answers/bulk-diesel-invoice-kilolitres-15c)
- [Fuel volume at 29.5 C vs 15 C](https://senseible.earth/answers/fuel-volume-at-29-5-c-vs-15-c)

Sources: [PPAC Ready Reckoner FY 2025-26, Chapter 9 conversion tables](https://ppac.gov.in/download.php?file=rep_studies/1784899305_The_PPAC_Ready_Reckoner_FY_2025%E2%80%9326_Final.pdf), [IPCC 2006 Guidelines, Volume 2 (Energy), default factors](https://www.ipcc-nggip.iges.or.jp/public/2006gl/vol2.html)

Last reviewed 2026-10-23.