There is a severe water shortage in Mexico, especially in major portions of the country.
People in certain areas are being required to wait in line for hours in order to receive water from the government as a result of a severe drought that has caused taps to run dry across the whole country. Nearly two-thirds of all municipalities are currently dealing with a water deficit.
Irate locals have taken to blocking highways and kidnapping municipal personnel in order to make their demands for additional water supply known to the government.
The figures that illustrate the severity of the issue are shocking: According to the data provided by the National Water Commission, as of the month of July, eight of Mexico’s 32 states were facing severe to moderate drought conditions, and as a result, 1,546 of the country’s 2,463 municipalities were dealing with water shortages.
According to the commission, as of the middle of July, over 48 percent of Mexico’s territory was experiencing drought conditions. This figure compares to approximately 28 percent of the country’s territory at the same time period the previous year.
Even if it takes research to prove that a specific drought was caused by climate change brought on by humans, there is no question in the minds of scientists that global warming has the potential to disrupt rainfall patterns all around the world and is making droughts more likely.
The majority of the western portion of the United States has been experiencing drought conditions ranging from moderate to severe during the past few years, which can be seen across the border in Canada.
This time is presently the driest two decades for the region that has ever occurred in the last 1,200 years.
According to the government, the problem is at its worst in Monterrey, which is one of the most significant economic centres in Mexico. In this city, the drought has devastated the whole metropolitan region, which is home to almost five million people. It has been 75 days since certain areas in Monterrey have had access to running water, which has forced several schools to close earlier than their scheduled summer holiday.
Because of how severe the situation has become in the city, a journalist who was just passing through was unable to purchase any drinking water at any of the stores he visited, including Walmart.
Residents of Monterrey are making do with whatever containers they can find in order to collect water from government trucks that have been dispatched to the city’s driest districts. Buckets, too, are hard to come by in the area’s businesses, or they are being offered at exorbitantly high rates. Some inhabitants are shown emptying garbage cans in order to get water to their homes, with youngsters helping to carry what can equal to 450 pounds of water at a time.
Although the worst afflicted are Monterrey’s more impoverished districts, the crisis is having an impact on everyone, even the city’s wealthiest residents.
“Here you have to pursue the water,” said Claudia Muiz, 38, whose home frequently goes without running water for as long as a week at a time. “Here you have to chase the water.” She stated this in reference to the violence that has broken out as a result of people fighting over the limited supply of water that is available. “In a moment of desperation, people erupt,”
The city of Monterrey is located in northern Mexico, which is the driest part of the nation. In recent years, the city’s population has increased as a result of the country’s booming economy. However, as a result of climate change, the region is receiving even less rainfall than usual, making it increasingly difficult for the normally arid environment to maintain the people.
Residents of Monterrey are now able to stroll across the bottom of the reservoir that was formerly one of the city’s primary supplies of water but was constructed by the Cerro Prieto dam and is now one of the city’s secondary sources of water. The reservoir was also a big tourist destination in the past, and the local government used to promote it for its vibrant eateries along the water’s edge as well as its fishing, boating, and water-skiing opportunities.
The coins that were buried at the bottom of the reservoir and left to bake in the sun have made Cerro Prieto one of the most popular destinations in the area. Residents run metal detectors over the exposed rock and bush, and as they do so, they fill bags with peso coins that were previously flung in by tourists as they made a wish.
Along with the water along the Cerro Prieto reservoir, water along two additional dams that provide the majority of Monterrey’s water supply has dried up as a result of a drought that has lasted for seven years (according to a local official, the drought was only broken by heavy rains in 2018). This year, the capacity of one dam was achieved at 15 percent, while the capacity of the second dam was reached at 42 percent. A large number of the city’s aquifers are also reaching their capacity limits, which is the source of the remaining water supply for the city.