Mexico City is facing a deepening water crisis amid a worsening climate change situation and experts are worried that the region could run out of water in a few months.
One resident, Alejandro Gomez, has been without proper running water for more than three months. He said that it comes back on for about an hour or two sometimes but only in small quantities, which he argued is not enough to fill a couple of buckets. Then, it could take several days for them to see running water once more.
Mexico City's Water Crisis
Gomez lives in Mexico City's Tlalpan district, which does not have a large storage tank, meaning that it cannot get water truck deliveries. Instead, he and his family are forced to eke out what little water they can buy and store it for future use.
When he and his family wash themselves, they capture the runoff in order to flush their toilet, which he said was difficult. He added that they are in desperate need of water because it is essential for everything. While water shortages are not uncommon in the neighborhood, Gomez said that this time is severely different, as per CNN.
He noted that right now, they are getting severely hot weather and what is worse is that things are more complicated than before. The sprawling metropolis has a population of nearly 22 million people. It is one of the world's largest cities and it is currently facing a severe water crisis.
The situation has been exacerbated by years of abnormally low rainfall, longer dry periods, and high temperatures. All of these factors have added stress to the city's water system which is already struggling to cope with increased demand. Local authorities have been forced to introduce significant restrictions on the water that is pumped from reservoirs.
In a statement, an atmospheric scientist at the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM), Christian Dominguez Sarmiento, said that several neighborhoods have suffered a lack of water for weeks. He added that there are still roughly four months left before the rains are expected to start across the region.
Global Water Shortage
In the past few days, many residents in Mexico City have protested in the streets to raise awareness of the shortages. This comes as authorities described water levels as being at their lowest levels in recorded history, according to UPI.
Demonstrators have focused their frustration and traveled to the National Water Commission in Acambay, which is found in the State of Mexico. They have also protested in the Azcapotzalco municipality in Mexico City, where angry residents blocked key roads to draw attention to the water crisis.
However, many of the city's lawmakers have downplayed the serious nature of the water crisis, averting the talk of any sense of impending crisis. Mexico City's former secretary of civil protection, Fausto Lugo Garcia, said that water shortages are now a new issue.
He added that the capital has recurrent problems in supply and there have been times when the local government has to limit it. However, water experts have issued a warning that the situation in the region has now reached critical levels and that Mexico City could hit "day zero" in a few months.
Climate change is at the forefront of the global water crisis as it acts as both a direct and indirect driver of shortages. Research showed that the main culprits behind the crisis include natural phenomena such as orographic rainfall patterns and human-induced factors, including over-extraction of water resources, said BNN Breaking.
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