Chennai, India Runs Out of Water

 

Millions of people in Chennai, India’s sixth largest city, have run out of water.

Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu, a southern state. It has an estimated 10 million people. As water taps in the city run dry, people now must line up to get fresh water from water tank trucks.

The drought is affecting life in other ways as well.

The Associated Press reports that some companies in Chennai have asked employees to work from home. Restaurants are closing early and limiting service.

Officials in Tamil Nadu say groundwater supplies have shrunk. They have asked other states for water. These supplies must last them until October, when monsoon¹ rains are expected to come.

In this area, monsoon rains are key to replenishing water supplies. But the rains do not always come on time.

This year’s monsoon arrived a week late in India. Weather experts say that monsoon rains usually cover two-thirds of the country by mid-June. However, the rains currently³ have reached less than half of that area.

Other cities are drying up

Chennai is not the only city in the world in danger of running out of water.

Last year, officials in South Africa’s city of Cape⁴ Town was prepared to declare April 21 “Day Zero.” That was to be the day Cape Town’s water supply would be gone. However, the city avoided disaster by re-directing water from other areas and limiting water use in the city.

In Brazil, the federal government said about 16 percent of its 5,570 cities has water problems. That includes the crowded city of Sao Paulo and the capital of Brasilia.

Across the world, Beijing in China, Los Angeles in the United States, Melbourne in Australia, Jakarta in Indonesia and many others are under water stress.

In its 2018 World Water Development Report, the United Nations warns that by the year 2050 demand for water around the world is expected to increase by nearly one-third. By then, 5 billion people could be left with poor access to fresh water.

Where is all the water?

Scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric⁵ Administration (NOAA) say that the oceans hold about 97 percent of the Earth's water.

The remaining three percent is found in many different places, “including glaciers⁷ and ice, below the ground, in rivers and lakes, and in the atmosphere.”

Of the remaining fresh water, scientists estimate that just one percent is easily accessible. The rest is trapped in glaciers and snowfields.

I’m Anna Matteo.

Words in This Story

drought – n. a long period of time during which there is very little or no rain

replenish² – v. to make full or complete once more

access – n. the right or ability to approach, enter, or use

glacier⁶ – n. a large body of ice moving slowly down a slope or valley or spreading outward on a land surface

atmosphere – n. the whole mass of air that surrounds the Earth : the gas surrounding a heavenly body (as a planet)

1 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

2 replenish   

vt.补充；(把…)装满；(再)填满

参考例句：

• I always replenish my food supply before it is depleted.我总是在我的食物吃完之前加以补充。
• We have to import an extra 4 million tons of wheat to replenish our reserves.我们不得不额外进口四百万吨小麦以补充我们的储备。

3 currently   

adv.通常地，普遍地，当前

参考例句：

• Currently it is not possible to reconcile this conflicting evidence.当前还未有可能去解释这一矛盾的例证。
• Our contracts are currently under review.我们的合同正在复查。

4 cape   

n.海角，岬；披肩，短披风

参考例句：

• I long for a trip to the Cape of Good Hope.我渴望到好望角去旅行。
• She was wearing a cape over her dress.她在外套上披着一件披肩。

5 atmospheric   

adj.大气的，空气的；大气层的；大气所引起的

参考例句：

• Sea surface temperatures and atmospheric circulation are strongly coupled.海洋表面温度与大气环流是密切相关的。
• Clouds return radiant energy to the surface primarily via the atmospheric window.云主要通过大气窗区向地表辐射能量。

6 glacier   

n.冰川，冰河

参考例句：

• The glacier calved a large iceberg.冰河崩解而形成一个大冰山。
• The upper surface of glacier is riven by crevasses.冰川的上表面已裂成冰隙。

7 glaciers   

冰河，冰川( glacier的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Glaciers gouged out valleys from the hills. 冰川把丘陵地带冲出一条条山谷。
• It has ice and snow glaciers, rainforests and beautiful mountains. 既有冰川，又有雨林和秀丽的山峰。 来自英语晨读30分（高一）