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 about 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 workers to work from home. Restaurants are closing early and limiting service. Officials in Tamil Nadu say groundwater supplies have broken. They have asked other states for water. These supplies must last them until October when monsoon rains are expected to come. In this area, monsoon rains are the key to replenishing(补充) 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.
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 Cape Town was prepared to declare April 21 "Day Zero". That was to be the day when Cape Town's water supply would be gone. However, the city avoided a disaster by re-directing water from other areas and limiting water use in the city. Across the world, Beijing in China, Los Angeles in the United States, Melbourne in Australia, Jakarta in Indonesia are also under water stress.
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