Bangladesh has instructed its civil servants to switch off the lights and turn down air conditioning to save power as the Middle East war worsens an energy crunch across Asia, officials said Monday.

The South Asian nation of 170 million people imports 95% of its oil and gas needs.

The Ministry of Public Administration issued a series of orders related to office attendance and saving electricity and fuel, ministry official Sakhawat Hossain told Agence France-Presse (AFP) on Monday.

"Only the necessary number of lights, fans, air conditioners, and other electrical equipment should be used," the order issued late Sunday read.

It also reminded workers to turn off the lights when they leave and ordered that air conditioning temperatures must be set to 25 degrees Celsius or warmer.

Bangladesh has said it is seeking loans of around $2 billion from multilateral donors to tackle energy worries.

The government has already taken several measures to curb fuel consumption, including setting limits on fuel purchases, halting production at most fertilizer factories, and deploying police to patrol filling stations.