Nearly 25 Percent of Puerto Rico Faces Severe Drought, With Another 36 Percent Under Moderate Drought, Per the u

Puerto Rico will implement rotating water rationing in San Juan and other major cities starting Friday, leaving more than 180,000 residents without water for 48-hour stretches as a record drought grips the U.S. territory. Governor Jenniffer Gonzalez said Tuesday the situation is "out of our hands, blaming weather conditions and adding she does not know how long the measures will last. Meteorologists warn dry conditions will likely persist until September, with July marking San Juan's driest month in over 120 years and its second-hottest.

Nearly 25 percent of Puerto Rico faces severe drought, with another 36 percent under moderate drought, per the U.S. Drought Monitor. National Weather Service meteorologist Maria Novoa Garcia said rainfall over the next two to three weeks will be at least 50 percent below average, citing a strengthening El Nino. The rationing extends to neighborhoods in Carolina, Juncos, Gurabo, Trujillo Alto, Canovanas and Loiza.

Luis Gonzalez Delgado, president of Puerto Rico's water and sewer system, said trucks will distribute potable water, prioritizing hospitals and senior residences. Some residents, like 61-year-old community leader Marcia Soler Paris, had already faced shortages for months, calling the situation "chaos" and "truly pitiful. The drought is separate from infrastructure issues that prompted San Juan Mayor Miguel Romero to sue the Water and Sewer Authority in late May. Puerto Rico previously rationed water in 2020 and 2015, when 400,000 customers received water every third day.