Families Resort to Polluting Fuels Amid Cooking Gas Shortages
In the cramped lanes of a south Delhi slum, Afshana Khatoon crouched wearily to light a small pile of firewood. She had just returned from six hours of searching through urban forests and dry parks in India’s capital for kindling to use as a makeshift stove. With temperatures soaring above 40°C, she walked miles, balancing sticks and fallen branches on her head as sweat dripped down her face.
Only weeks earlier, the 35-year-old mother had been cooking meals for her four children on a small gas stove without difficulty. However, the ongoing crisis in the Middle East has severely disrupted India’s crucial imports of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), which more than 60% of the population relies on for cooking. LPG refills have become scarce and prices have risen beyond what many can afford.
Khatoon, like many others in India and across Asia, has been forced to revert to using crude, polluting fuels such as firewood and coal to meet basic cooking needs.
“It already feels like hell,”she said while filling a pot with water.
“I’m not eating properly, and I have to work much more than before. My whole day now is about collecting firewood and cooking.”
Economic and Health Implications of Returning to Biomass Fuels
The shift back to firewood and coal is exacerbating economic hardships caused by the war for civilians across Asia and raising serious concerns about public health, air pollution, and the vulnerability of the energy transition.
India imports approximately 60% of its LPG, with about 90% of that supply passing through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical shipping route currently blockaded amid the ongoing conflict between Iran and the US. Official data indicates that India’s LPG consumption fell by 2.2 million tonnes in April, marking the sharpest decline in recent years.
As the conflict persists, cooking gas prices in informal markets have surged. In Khatoon’s dimly lit home, her 5kg gas canister sat empty. She explained that LPG has become prohibitively expensive, costing more than four times what it did previously.
“My husband earns 400 to 500 rupees a day. We can’t spend 1,000 rupees just on gas for a week,”she said.
While the Indian government maintains there is no shortage, Prime Minister Narendra Modi recently urged citizens to adopt austerity measures, including limiting fuel and petrol use. The defence minister reported that India’s petroleum gas reserves are sufficient for only 45 days.
Once Khatoon’s firewood stove is lit, thick smoke rises, irritating her eyes and throat. Despite the discomfort, she has no alternative but to endure the smoke while cooking. She placed her head in her hands, expressing exhaustion.
“We just want to cook as quickly as possible,”she said.
Air Quality Concerns and Health Risks
The resurgence of biomass fuel use is raising alarms about deteriorating air quality in cities across the region. Solid fuels like wood and charcoal emit pollutants linked to respiratory diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, strokes, and heart disease.
The combined impact of ambient and household air pollution is associated with approximately 6.7 million premature deaths annually worldwide. Women and children, who typically handle household chores like cooking and collecting firewood, are especially vulnerable.
Delhi is among the world’s most polluted cities, and policies over recent years have promoted cleaner fuels such as LPG and compressed natural gas to reduce emissions. Environmental activists warn that years of progress toward cleaner fuel adoption are being reversed as the Middle East conflict continues. With shortages worsening, Delhi authorities have temporarily eased restrictions on coal and firewood use.
“When prices rise, it’s the poorest who are forced to switch back to biomass,”said Harjeet Singh, a climate activist and founding director of the Climate Action Network South Asia.
“Biomass burning is a major source of fine particulate pollution. In dense urban areas, the impact is even more severe because of how closely people live and how poorly ventilated these spaces are.”
Over the past decade, the Indian government has distributed over 100 million subsidised cooking gas canisters. However, the current crisis reveals a deeper issue: access to LPG does not guarantee affordability, forcing families to choose between food and fuel.
For many, the gas cylinder has become, according to Singh,
“a symbol of a transition they can no longer afford to sustain”.
Similar Crisis in the Philippines
Thousands of miles away in the Philippines, where 90% of LPG supplies also depend on shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, a comparable crisis is unfolding.
In a narrow alley in Manila, Josephine Songalia sat quietly by a charcoal stove, fanning it until a flame appeared. A few months ago, she would have simply turned a knob to light her LPG stove. Now, gas has become an unaffordable luxury. Prices for a small LPG tank have tripled to approximately Php600 (about $9.80 or £7.20).
Charcoal, though dirtier and more polluting, costs only Php10, allowing Songalia to cook rice and boil water. At mealtimes, she instructs her children to keep their distance, fearing the toxic fumes.
“I worry the smoke could harm my lungs and make me sick, but I push those thoughts aside because I have to do this so my kids can eat,”said the 25-year-old mother of three living in Aroma, Tondo, one of Manila’s poorest neighborhoods.
The war’s ripple effects have also increased food prices in the Philippines, forcing her family to skip meals.
“In the morning, my kids say: ‘Mama, we’re hungry.’ I tell them we don’t have food – just drink coffee,”she said.
LPG consumption in the Philippines has dropped 30% compared with the same period last year as many switch to charcoal due to cost. To alleviate financial strain, the government has suspended excise taxes on LPG and paraffin for three months.
“At stake right now is the health of families … air pollution indoors will be proliferating,”said Mylene G Cayetano, professor of environmental science and meteorology at the University of the Philippines, Diliman.
Cayetano noted that charcoal production is a
“very dirty process”.It is mostly carried out in coastal or riverside areas, releasing ash and smoke and causing environmental damage.
Health Impacts on Vulnerable Populations
Back in the Delhi slum, as evening fell and firewood stoves were lit for dinner, 75-year-old Shanti struggled to breathe. Diagnosed with a chronic lung condition, she has been forced to cook with firewood again for the past two months.
“A doctor told me to stay away from smoke,”she said, coughing.
“But what choice do I have? My health is getting worse but I need to eat.”
