Every day, Shakil Khan rides his motorcycle through Dhaka's congested traffic to deliver goods and transport passengers. However, for the past few weeks, instead of navigating the streets, he has spent hours waiting at gas stations to purchase his allotted fuel.

Khan and tens of millions of Bangladeshis are experiencing fuel and gas shortages. This is due to the military campaign by the US and Israel targeting Iran, which has disrupted global fuel supplies.

"My daily income has significantly decreased due to the fuel shortage," Khan said with a sigh. Behind him, a long line of motorcycles snaked around the neighborhood. Raisul Islam Omar, a delivery rider standing nearby, stated that he has to queue twice a day to get enough fuel to make a living.

In addition, the Bangladeshi government has asked millions of citizens to reduce air conditioning use, turn off lights, work from home, and limit travel for meetings to conserve energy.

Drivers in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on 10/3, queue at a gas station amid growing concerns about fuel supply disruptions due to the conflict between the US and Israel with Iran. Photo: Mohammad Ponir Hossain/Reuters

Khan and Omar are two of tens of millions in South Asia currently facing the shock from energy supply disruptions. Thousands of miles away, the Strait of Hormuz – the world's most critical fuel shipping route – is nearly paralyzed by military conflict between the US, Israel, and Iran. This widespread disruption has escalated into a crisis, prompting the United Nations to warn of "catastrophic consequences" for the global supply chain.

In Gorakhpur, a city in northern India, Ajay Kumar joined a queue of people waiting to exchange gas cylinders outside a distribution center from 3h in the morning. "This situation has lasted for 10 days. If we don't arrive early, half of us will go home empty-handed," he told news agency ANI.

With gas shortages, many families in India have seen their daily routines upended. "Yesterday, my family had to light a wood fire to cook," shared a resident named Ravi.

Residents gather in front of a gas dealer to refill gas cylinders amid supply disruptions following the conflict between the US and Israel with Iran, in Chennai, India, on 11/3. Photo: Riya Mariyam R/Reuters

South Asia has been the region most severely affected by the Middle East conflict in recent days. According to analytics firm Kpler, India imports approximately 85% of its liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) and 50% of its liquefied natural gas (LNG) from the Middle East. To cope, the Indian government activated emergency powers, diverting fuel from industrial sectors to households. Neighboring Pakistan has also implemented austerity measures: closing schools, promoting work from home, and prohibiting public agencies from purchasing electricity-consuming equipment.

The wave of shortages has spread across Asia. In South Korea, the government capped fuel prices for the first time in nearly 30 years and strictly penalized gas stations overcharging. Thailand and the Philippines have both requested public servants to work from home and limit air conditioning use to reduce strain on their national power grids.

To cool the market, the International Energy Agency (IEA) decided to release 400 million barrels from strategic oil reserves, the largest intervention in its history. India also provided emergency aid of 5,000 tons of diesel via pipeline to Bangladesh to support its power generation and transportation systems.

However, for workers like Mohammad Joynal in Dhaka, these macro-level actions still seem too distant as living costs are rising daily.

"If this situation continues, the economy will face immense pressure, and we, the poor, will bear the brunt of all consequences," Joynal said with resignation while queuing for fuel at midnight.

Minh Phuong (Reuters)