Water scarcity caused by drought has affected nearly 250,000 Sri Lankans, according to the Sri Lankan Disaster Management Centre (DMC).
The northern and eastern provinces of the country have been hit the hardest. The National Water Supply and Drainage Board (NWSDB) has called on the public to use water sparingly, as their capacity to supply purified drinking water has dropped to 9 percent.
The NWSDB's general manager, Wasantha Illangasinghe, stated that the average Sri Lankan consumer uses 120 liters of piped water per day, but only 40 liters are necessary for cooking and drinking. The country's department of meteorology predicts no significant rainfall until October.
