The lights go out in Colombo

Sri Lanka ordered street lights, neon signs and billboard lighting switched off nationwide as part of a plan to cut energy consumption by 25%. The measure is aimed at tackling supply shortages caused by the closure of the Strait of Hormuz and the surge in global oil and gas prices.

Sri Lanka is more than 4,000 kilometres from the Strait of Hormuz. It has no troops in the region, is not allied with any of the belligerents, and last week denied permission for US bombers to operate from its territory. Its only connection to the war is the same as that of any developing nation dependent on energy imports: price.

In Zimbabwe, fuel topped $2 per litre for the first time. In the United States, petrol went from $2.93 to $3.91 per gallon in under a month. An energy analyst told Al Jazeera that current suggestions to ration fuel and work from home are "just the beginning" and could become enforced rules. The lights going out in Colombo are the most eloquent image of what a war in the Gulf means for the rest of the world. You do not need missiles to feel the effects. You just need to depend on oil.