A worker collects water at the dried-out Puzhal Reservoir on the outskirts of Chennai, India, on June 20.
India's water crisis, in photos
A worker collects water at the dried-out Puzhal Reservoir on the outskirts of Chennai, India, on June 20.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images

Updated 8:59 PM EDT, Fri June 21, 2019

Millions of people are running out of usable water in the southern Indian city of Chennai, which is experiencing major droughts and a rapidly worsening water crisis.

Four reservoirs that supply Chennai, the state capital and India's sixth largest city, have nearly run dry.

The situation in Chennai reflects an ongoing nationwide crisis as a fatal heat wave sweeps across the country and cities face dwindling water supplies. People have begun fighting over water, with minor clashes across Chennai.

Droughts across India are an annually reoccurring event, and smaller towns have run out of water before. But Chennai is one of the first major cities to face such severe water shortages, exacerbated by a combination of the heat wave, climate change and poor planning.

The Puzhal water reservoir, on the outskirts of Chennai, is dried out on June 14. Seasonal monsoon rains, which bring relief each year and replenish the country's water supplies, are late this year.
The Puzhal water reservoir, on the outskirts of Chennai, is dried out on June 14. Seasonal monsoon rains, which bring relief each year and replenish the country's water supplies, are late this year.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
A young man looks for mud crabs and snakehead fish as he walks on the parched bed of Chembarambakkam Lake, on the outskirts of Chennai, on May 21.
A young man looks for mud crabs and snakehead fish as he walks on the parched bed of Chembarambakkam Lake, on the outskirts of Chennai, on May 21.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
Women fetch water from an opening made at a dried-up lake in Chennai on June 11.
Women fetch water from an opening made at a dried-up lake in Chennai on June 11.
P. Ravikumar/Reuters
The dry bed of a lake is covered in dead fish outside Chennai on June 9.
The dry bed of a lake is covered in dead fish outside Chennai on June 9.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
People stand in line to get water from a tanker in Chennai on June 19. With low groundwater levels and insufficient rainwater collection systems, the state government has resorted to trucking water directly into neighborhoods.
People stand in line to get water from a tanker in Chennai on June 19. With low groundwater levels and insufficient rainwater collection systems, the state government has resorted to trucking water directly into neighborhoods.
R. Parthibhan/AP
A shepherd and his livestock walk at the dried-out Puzhal reservoir on June 14.
A shepherd and his livestock walk at the dried-out Puzhal reservoir on June 14.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
A man fills a container with drinking water as others wait in line in Chennai on June 17.
A man fills a container with drinking water as others wait in line in Chennai on June 17.
P. Ravikumar/Reuters
Civic workers remove dead fish floating at a partially dried-up lake in Chennai on June 18.
Civic workers remove dead fish floating at a partially dried-up lake in Chennai on June 18.
R.Parthibhan/AP
Monsoon rains should have begun by June 1, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Monsoon rains should have begun by June 1, according to the India Meteorological Department.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
People fetch drinking water from a well in the outskirts of Chennai on May 29.
People fetch drinking water from a well in the outskirts of Chennai on May 29.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images
A man searches for fish in the Puzhal reservoir on June 14.
A man searches for fish in the Puzhal reservoir on June 14.
Arun Sankar/AFP/Getty Images