Sri Lanka declares Wednesdays off as Asian countries try to conserve fuel

Elsewhere in Asia, authorities have resorted to a variety of austerity measures.

In Thailand, for example, the government is urging people to swap suits for short-sleeved tees to reduce reliance on air conditioning, while in Myanmar, private vehicles are allowed only to operate on alternates days depending on their licence plate numbers.

Bangladesh has brought forward Ramadan holidays in universities and introduced planned blackouts across the nation to conserve energy.

In the Philippines, some government offices have mandated that staff work from home at least one day a week, while President Ferdinand Marcos Jr has banned non-essential travel in the public sector.

Marcos also announced cash assistance to tricycle drivers, farmers and fishermen to help them cope with rising oil prices, ranging from 3,000-5,000 pesos ($50-$84; £38-63).

And Vietnam is strongly encouraging citizens to stay at home more to conserve fuel. The government also called on people to "ride bicycles, carpool, use public transport, and "restrict personal vehicle use when unnecessary."

Authorities picked Wednesday instead of Friday as the additional off day so that government offices would not be closed for three days in a row, they added.

Motorists are also now required to register for a National Fuel Pass which rations the amount of fuel that people can buy.

This has sparked some unhappiness among some Sri Lankan who feel that the fuel quotas - 15 litres for private cars and five litres for motorcycles - are too low.

The rationing mechanism was first implemented in 2022 during the country's worst economic crisis which saw it run out of foreign reserves and unable to import essential items and buy enough fuel.

Oil prices have soared since the US and Israel started bombarding Iran late last month, and is currently hovering at around $100 a barrel.