Everyday life in Asia is being upended by Iran war fuel crisis

Everyday life in Asia is being upended by Iran war fuel crisis 13 hours ago Koh Ewe and Flora Drury The effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz after the US and Israel began their war with Iran in late February has sent shockwaves across the globe.

Oil prices have soared and stock markets have wobbled as the world waits to see when Iran will allow the key waterway - through which about 20% of all oil passes - to reopen.

At the moment, only a handful of ships make it through the strait each day. Meanwhile, the attacks on energy infrastructure in the region have only served to push prices higher.

Arguably, nowhere has felt it more than Asia: nearly 90% of the oil and gas passing through the strait is bound for Asian countries.

And already, the strain is being felt. Governments have ordered employees to work from home, cut the working week, declared national holidays and closed universities early in order to conserve their supplies.

Even China - which is thought to have reserves equivalent to three months of imports - is making adjustments, limiting a fuel price hike as citizens are faced with a 20% jump in price.

The war may be thousands of miles away - but people across Asia have been telling the BBC about the very real, everyday impact it is having on their lives.

Philippines On Tuesday, the Philippines declared a national emergency in light of the conflict and "the resulting imminent danger posed upon the availability and stability of the country's energy supply".

The impact here of a war more than 7,000km (4,300 miles) away is being felt strongly - with the country's jeepney drivers among the worst affected.

Carlos Bragal Jr has seen his daily wage drop from 1,000 to 1,200 pesos ($16.

92) for a 12-hour shift to just 200 to 500 pesos. Drivers like him were already facing a slew of issues - including excise tax and a suspended fare hike - but the recent soaring prices now mean some of his colleagues make nothing.

"I have sent my daughters to school because of this job - one just graduated and the other one is a graduating student," Carlos said, adding: "We had a good life.

But now, we do not know what will happen to us in the next few weeks.

"If this continues, it will definitely kill us and our family. "

It is not just the jeepney drivers fearing the future, however.

Fishermen and farmers are also struggling with high fuel costs. Several vegetable farmers in Bulacan have already been forced to stop planting. The government has acknowledged the issue, stepping in to offer cash assistance. But Carlos, and others, aren't impressed.

"The fuel subsidy from the government isn't enough.

It's for a two-day drive. So what happens after two days? Our situation now is worse than during the pandemic," Carlos said. Thailand In nearly two decades as a news presenter, Sirima Songklin has rarely been caught without a suit. But earlier this month, she and her fellow news anchors at public broadcaster Thai PBS removed their blazers on air to promote a message: save energy by dressing appropriately in the heat amid a fuel crisis.

"Taking off the suit isn't the whole solution for energy conservation, but what we did is to show that we're not ignoring what's happening.

We were setting an example," Sirima told BBC Thai.

"It's unbelievable that something so small could reflect the clear impact of the current conflict [in the Middle East] on us. "

In fact, the order to take jackets off is one of a series of government directives since the strait closed.

People in Thailand have also been asked to keep air conditioning at 26-27C, and all government agencies have been told to work from home.

Authorities, however, have also been keen to say Thailand will have enough energy going forward.

Sri Lanka The irony of the current crisis is not lost on Dimuthu, who lives in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo.

"During the previous time, the country did not have money to buy fuel.

Now, the country has money, but there is no fuel for us to buy. "

Sri Lanka has just emerged from a financial crisis which, in 2022, saw it run out of foreign reserves and unable to import essential items and buy enough fuel.

Now it is back on a more even keel.

But aware of the risks, it has brought in a series of belt-tightening measures - including declaring Wednesdays a public holiday and bringing in fuel rationing. But long queues at the pump to get your allowance are having their own knock-on effects.

"I didn't go to work today," says Nimal, a lawnmower operator from Colombo.

"We are fulfilling our daily needs with great difficulty. Because of [the queues]. I don't even have time to attend to work. "By the time I get back to work after getting fuel, someone else may be there as a replacement for the job. "

Myanmar In Myanmar - engulfed by civil war since May 2021 - the military-backed authorities have brought in an alternate day policy for private vehicles as it tries to conserve fuel.

For Ko Htet - not his real name - the impact is not so much on his working life, but on his social life.

"I usually meet with my friends weekly and monthly," says the bank employee, who has been travelling to work on public transport.

"Right now, we need to discuss whether we meet on even or odd days, making sure everyone is okay to come. "

He also fears a new black market for fuel may emerge over the coming months - adding to worries about the rising prices of commodities.

India The world's most populous country has been deeply affected by events in the Middle East since 28 February.

The 10 million-strong Indian community in the Gulf is dealing with the direct fallout of the war, but at home the effects of oil and gas shortages are being felt across both homes and businesses.

In the western state of Gujurat, a shortage of gas rather than oil has seen the region's ceramics industry shut down for the best part of a month.

With no end in sight to the Iran conflict, the 400,000 people employed in the trade have been left in limbo.

India has been hit hard by the strait's closure.

Roughly 60% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) is imported, and about 90% of those shipments pass through the Strait of Hormuz.

And it is not just factories struggling.

In Mumbai - a city of more than 22 million people - as many as a fifth of all hotels and restaurants fully or partially shut in the first weeks of March.

Items which take longer to cook are absent from menus.

Long queues have formed across the nation as people try to get their hands on gas cylinders, even as the government tries to calm fears of a shortage.

"The situation [in restaurants] is dire.

Cooking gas simply isn't available," Manpreet Singh, of the National Restaurant Association of India, which represents about 500,000 restaurants, told the BBC. Additional reporting by Virma Simonette in Manila, Paweena Ninbut in Bangkok, BBC Sinhala, BBC Burmese and Soutik Biswas and Abhishek Dey in Delhi