The Mexican state of Nuevo León, with Monterrey as its main city, has already declared a state of emergency in February due to persistent drought, combined with temperatures of more than 40 degrees Celsius that cause surface water to evaporate at lightning speed.
Since 2015, there has been less rainfall in this area every year than expected. Rivers have dried up and the reservoirs of various dams are also virtually empty.
Previous tap water rationing, with the mains shutting off one day a week to conserve water, sparked a stampede on inflatable pools and water barrels in March, according to local media.
Monterrey, where beer factories and five makers of soft drinks, including Coca Cola, are taking a huge toll on scarce water resources, has pinned its hopes on projects such as an aqueduct and an American-Mexican initiative to make seawater drinkable. These projects are still in their infancy for the time being. There is only one expensive emergency solution and that is to transfer water from reservoirs in other states. However, Monterrey is not the only parched city in Mexico: according to the National Water Commission, almost half of the country is suffering from water shortages due to the extreme drought.
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