How dry is California?
California is in the fourth year of its most severe drought on record, facing low precipitation, dwindling mountain snowpack levels and the hottest temperatures in state history. The water supply in the state’s reservoirs has dropped to historic lows, especially in the central part of the state.
Scroll or use arrow keys NextTake a look at Don Pedro, a large reservoir in the San Joaquin River Basin, where the drought is especially severe. Historically, the reservoir would be nearly 70 percent full in the month of September.
NextHere’s the water level for Don Pedro in September of this year. It's more than 236 billion gallons lower than average, about the quantity of 358,000 Olympic-sized swimming pools.
NextLevels for the reservoir haven’t dipped as low as they did during a dry year in 1977. But the 1976-77 drought lasted only two years, while the current drought is in its fourth year.
NextHere's how the reservoir levels compare over the course of a water year, which runs from October 1 through September.
NextWhat does this mean for the Southwest?
The region’s potential for drought has increased due to rising temperatures, sparse precipitation and a record low quantity of melting mountain snow.
[Scientists say California hasn’t been this dry in 500 years]
Catastrophic wildfires have raged through the western U.S. in one of its worst wildfire seasons ever. More than 9 million acres have burned nationwide this year, the second highest number on record.
[Wildfires have now burned a massive 8 million acres across the U.S.]
Climate scientists estimate that California would need two to three times as much rain as normal to resolve its precipitation debt. In Southern California, that would mean nearly 53 inches of rain.
[All that record-breaking rain in California still isn’t enough to dent the drought]