Peru rations water in capital after low rainfall

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LIMA, Peru (Reuters) -- Residents of the Peruvian capital Lima, enduring sticky summer heat, are now facing overnight water cuts because of unusually low rainfall.

Water company Sedapal said on Wednesday it was halting the flow from 6 p.m. to 6 a.m. until rains replenished supplies in the mountains. About 90 percent of the Pacific coastal city's population of 8 million is connected directly to the system.

Experts at the national meteorological service SENAHMI said there had been half the usual rainfall in the central Andes and rain was not expected to pick up until March or April.

It is Lima's worst water rationing in a decade. The measure was not expected to affect agriculture or industry.

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