"BOGOTA - Colombia's capital Bogota will start rationing water this week to alleviate droughts wrought by the El Nino weather pattern, which has exacerbated the Andean country's dry season and caused reservoir levels to fall, Mayor Carlos Galan said on Monday.
The restrictions will also apply to 11 municipalities close to the capital, affecting at least 9 million people.
The El Nino phenomenon arrived in Colombia at the end of 2023, causing high temperatures and droughts that led to forest fires throughout the Andean country and pushed reservoirs to their lowest levels in decades.
Three reservoirs that make up the Chingaza water system, which supplies Bogota with 70% of its water needs, are at just 16.9% capacity, Galan said, their lowest level in 40 years."
Luis Jaime Acosta and Oliver Griffin report for Reuters April 8, 2024.
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