In the ramshackle lanes of a south Delhi slum, Afshana Khatoon crouches wearily on her haunches, lighting a modest pile of firewood. She has just returned from six hours spent trudging through the urban forests and dry parks of India’s capital, searching for kindling. As the summer heat soared above 40°C, she walked for miles, balancing bundles of fallen branches on her head while sweat blurred her vision.
Until recently, the 35-year-old prepared meals for her four children on a small gas stove with little fuss. But as geopolitical instability in the Middle East chokes India’s vital supplies of imported liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), refills have become scarce and prices have surged beyond the reach of the urban poor. For Khatoon and millions across Asia, the “energy transition” is moving backward.
The shift from clean-burning LPG back to crude, “dirty” fuels like firewood and coal is not merely an economic setback; It’s a burgeoning public health emergency. In cities already struggling with some of the worst air quality on earth, the return to biomass burning is filling homes with toxic smoke, disproportionately affecting women and children who manage the household hearth.
India imports approximately 60% of its LPG needs, with roughly 90% of those shipments passing through the Strait of Hormuz. This critical shipping route, often a flashpoint in the ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States, serves as a jugular vein for Asian energy security. When this route is disrupted or threatened, the ripple effects are felt immediately in the slums of Delhi and the alleyways of Manila.
The Affordability Gap in India’s Energy Transition
For years, the Indian government touted the success of its clean cooking initiatives, distributing more than 100 million subsidized gas canisters to rural and urban poor. However, the current crisis has exposed a fundamental fault line: providing a canister does not guarantee the ability to refill it. Access is not affordability.
In Khatoon’s dimly lit shanty, an empty 5kg gas canister sits forgotten in the corner. She reports that LPG prices in informal markets have risen to more than four times their previous cost. With her husband earning between 400 and 500 rupees a day, spending 1,000 rupees a week on fuel is an impossibility.
While official government channels insist there is no systemic shortage, the rhetoric from the top suggests a tighter situation. Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently called for austerity measures, urging citizens to limit their use of fuel and petrol. Further compounding the anxiety is a report from the defense ministry indicating that India’s petroleum gas reserves may last only 45 days.
This desperation has forced local authorities in Delhi to temporarily relax restrictions on the use of coal and firewood—a move that environmentalists warn will erase years of progress in urban air quality management.
A Silent Killer: The Health Cost of Biomass
The return to biomass—wood, charcoal, and crop residue—introduces a cocktail of dangerous pollutants into the home. Unlike LPG, which burns relatively cleanly, solid fuels emit high levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and carbon monoxide.
- Respiratory Failure: Long-term exposure is linked to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and lung cancer.
- Cardiovascular Strain: The inhalation of toxic fumes is a known contributor to strokes and heart disease.
- Pediatric Vulnerability: Children breathing these fumes in poorly ventilated spaces face stunted lung development and acute respiratory infections.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the combined effects of ambient and household air pollution are associated with 6.7 million premature deaths annually. For women like 75-year-old Shanti in Delhi, the choice is between starvation and sickness. Diagnosed with a chronic lung condition and warned by doctors to avoid smoke, Shanti now cooks over firewood because she has no other choice. “My health is getting worse,” she says, coughing, “but I need to eat.”
The Pacific Ripple: Manila’s Charcoal Crisis
The crisis is not confined to the subcontinent. Thousands of miles away in the Philippines, where 90% of LPG needs depend on the Strait of Hormuz, a similar regression is unfolding. In the Tondo district of Manila, Josephine Songalia, 25, now fans a charcoal stove to boil water and cook rice for her three children.
The cost of a small LPG tank in Manila has tripled, reaching approximately Php600 (roughly $9.80). In contrast, charcoal costs Songalia just Php10. The trade-off is the air her children breathe; she instructs them to keep a distance from the stove, fearing the toxic fumes.
The economic strain is compounded by rising food costs, a secondary ripple effect of the same Middle East conflicts. Songalia describes mornings where her children wake up hungry, but she can only offer them coffee because there is no food left in the house. In response, the Philippine government has suspended the excise tax on LPG and paraffin for a three-month window, though critics argue What we have is a temporary bandage on a systemic wound.
| Metric | India (Delhi Focus) | Philippines (Manila Focus) |
|---|---|---|
| LPG Import Dependency | ~60% Total | ~90% via Hormuz |
| Primary Alternative | Firewood / Coal | Charcoal |
| Govt. Response | Austerity Calls / Reserve Mgmt | Temporary Excise Tax Suspension |
| Key Health Driver | Urban PM2.5 / COPD | Indoor Smoke / Pediatric Health |
Fragile Transitions and Geopolitical Risk
Climate activist Harjeet Singh, founding director of the Satat Sampada Climate Foundation, notes that the gas cylinder has become “a symbol of a transition they can no longer afford to sustain.” The reliance on a single, volatile shipping route for essential cooking fuel demonstrates the fragility of Asia’s energy security strategy.
Professor Mylene G. Cayetano of the University of the Philippines, Diliman, warns that the surge in charcoal use also creates an environmental feedback loop. The production of cheap charcoal is often a “very dirty process” that leads to local deforestation and fills riverside communities with ash and smoke.
Disclaimer: This report discusses public health risks associated with air pollution. For medical advice regarding respiratory conditions, please consult a licensed healthcare provider or refer to official World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines.
The immediate future of cooking fuel access in Asia remains tied to the volatility of the Middle East. The next critical checkpoint will be the upcoming quarterly energy review by the International Energy Agency (IEA) and the Indian Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, which will determine if strategic reserves are sufficient to stabilize prices through the next fiscal quarter.
Do you believe energy security should be treated as a fundamental human right? Share your thoughts in the comments or share this story to raise awareness about the hidden costs of geopolitical conflict.
