Asia Households Revert to Dirty Fuels as LPG Prices Jump 4-Fold in Middle East Supply Crunch
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · May 13
Asia Households Revert to Dirty Fuels as LPG Prices Jump 4-Fold in Middle East Supply Crunch
5 articles · Updated · The Guardian · May 13
India and the Philippines are seeing poor households abandon LPG for firewood, coal and charcoal as the Middle East conflict disrupts supplies and pushes cooking gas beyond reach.
India imports about 60% of its LPG, with roughly 90% normally moving through the Strait of Hormuz; April consumption fell 2.2 million tonnes, and officials say reserves cover just 45 days.
Delhi families report refill costs rising to more than four times prior levels, while Manila residents say small LPG tanks have tripled to about Php600; Philippine LPG use is down 30% from a year earlier.
That shift is reviving health and pollution risks: WHO links household and ambient air pollution to 6.7 million premature deaths a year, and women and children face the heaviest exposure.
The crisis is also exposing a weakness in Asia’s clean-cooking push: India distributed more than 100 million subsidized cylinders, but access has not protected households when fuel becomes unaffordable.
Could a Middle East oil crisis accidentally spark a clean cooking revolution in Asia?
How is the Hormuz blockade redrawing the map of global food and energy security?
Asia’s 2026 LPG Crisis: How the Strait of Hormuz Closure Sparked Energy Shortages, Inflation, and a Dirty Fuel Reversal
Overview
In May 2026, conflict between the United States, Israel, and Iran led to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas. This action, taken by Iran in retaliation, triggered a severe crisis that disrupted energy markets worldwide, with Asia suffering the most due to its heavy reliance on Middle Eastern imports. The prolonged closure intensified supply shocks, causing sharp declines in energy availability and driving up prices. As a result, Asian countries faced inflation, fuel shortages, and were forced to adopt emergency measures, highlighting the region’s vulnerability to geopolitical tensions and supply disruptions.