Mexico's Monterrey is without water because of drought.

Maria Celia Navarro (73), smiles wistfully as she recalls the simple pleasure of taking a bath.

Mexico's Monterrey is without water because of drought.

Maria Celia Navarro (73), smiles wistfully as she recalls the simple pleasure of taking a bath. This was a luxury that was unthinkable for many weeks in Monterrey. The industrial capital of Mexico is now learning to live without water.

Monterrey is surrounded by magnificent mountains and 200km from the United States. It has five million inhabitants.

The drought has turned everything upside down. There has been very little rain in the last fifteen months. Two of three water reservoirs and dams that supply the country’s second city are now dry. In June, the authorities decided to reduce running water usage to just a few hours per day.

Maria Celia says, "It makes it desperate," in her tiny, poorly ventilated apartment, where the temperature is close to 40 degrees in the morning. The town of Garcia is home to the septuagenarian, where many residents have never seen such a situation. The hills are the stronghold of outlying areas, and the most vulnerable have not seen water in 50 days.

Few homes have a cistern, or a tank to store their water. This is especially true in areas of Mexico City that are struggling to deal with severe water shortages, such as the "colony" Iztapalapa. Javier Torres is a municipal officer responsible for overseeing water distribution in the disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Families, including children, rush towards the tanker trucks with empty cans in their hands.

According to the National Water Information System, two dams operated at less than 10% capacity at the end of June (1% for one and 44% respectively).

The Boca dam is the worst affected by drought. The water reservoir and terraces of the many restaurants that are located on the banks of the old water body are completely empty. The photos on the walls of these shops show tourist facilities from another time: beaches with water and waves and boats afloat.

Today's reality is very different. There are still shells and boats that have been left behind in the mud. After the pandemic, we could barely breathe. Adrian Luna, a 26 year-old waiter, laments that it didn't last very long and the drought began.

The young man is afraid that boat trips on the reservoir will soon be a distant memory.

Monterrey has infrastructure issues, in addition to the drought. Governor Samuel Garcia (34), said that an aqueduct had cracked. His poor communication attracts many criticisms.

The young governor defends the use of silver iodide to bombard clouds with chemicals, which accelerates condensation and rain. He said that he was not Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain. This phrase has become a viral hit. He said that causing rain for just a few hours could fix the problem, but this was in a video that he posted in June.

"I don’t want to be victorious. We are accomplishing what seemed impossible, bombarding the clouds with rainwater to make it possible. He spoke out about "cloud seeding", a technique that he described as "a crisis."

The local industry was called upon - including brewing, steel mills and cement factories. After negotiations with federal authorities, industrialists, farmers and others pledged to supply 37% of the city’s water requirements.

Javier Torres, city manager, stated that companies have stopped operating on certain days of week to conserve water. "There are some companies that have provided water for certain areas."

The weather forecast for Sunday still predicts great sunshine in Monterrey, with temperatures hovering around 38 degrees and no precipitation. On Wednesday night, showers could be expected. Tlaloc, the god of rain,'s followers just need to keep their fingers crossed.