Branches rest along sand dunes as clouds pass overhead at sunset inside Death Valley National Park in June 17, 2021 in Inyo County, California. - Much of the western United States is braced for record heat waves this week, with approximately 50 million Americans placed on alert on June 15 for "excessive" temperatures, which could approach 120 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius) in some areas. The National Park Service warns of extreme summer heat, urging tourists to carry extra water and "travel prepared to survive" in the hottest, lowest, and driest national park featuring steady drought and extreme climates. (Photo by Patrick T. FALLON / AFP) (Photo by PATRICK T. FALLON/AFP via Getty Images)
Latest photography of California’s devastating drought emergency
California is currently experiencing a severe drought, and it's not over yet.
California has recently been experiencing a very serious drought, with many of the state’s reservoirs and waterways at fractions of their normal levels, and water shortages being reported across the state. During February, which is traditionally the rainy season, no measurable rain was recorded in Los Angeles County.
With the drought also comes a higher risk of wildfires, and California is braced for a record-breaking season that could top the 4.1 million acres of damage that occurred in 2020.
We bring you a gallery of some of the worst-affected areas.
San Gabriel Reservoir
The San Gabriel River and the exposed lakebed of the San Gabriel Reservoir are seen in the third week of spring as another year of drought develops throughout the West of the USA, on 8 April 2021 in the San Gabriel Mountains near Azusa, California. Precipitation was extremely low in Los Angeles County in the winter of 2020-21 with no measurable rain recorded in downtown Los Angeles during the month of February, which is the height of the rainy season. As native vegetation continues to grow drier and more flammable each month, fire officials expect another devastating season of massive wildfires. Historically, there is little chance of rain until late 2021. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images
Browns Ravine Cove
Empty boat docks sit on dry land at the Browns Ravine Cove area of drought-stricken Folsom Lake, California, USA, in thisphotograph taken on 22 May 2021. The lake is currently at 37 per cent of its normal capacity. Photo by Josh Edelson/AP/Shutterstock
Folsom Lake Marina
Empty boat slips sit on a dry lake bed at Folsom Lake Marina as the lake experiences lower water levels during the California drought emergency on 27 May 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California, USA. On 10 May California Governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of drought emergency in 41 counties, including El Dorado County where Folsom Lake is located. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Lake Sonoma
Trees at the bottom of Lake Sonoma became exposed as the large reservoir of drinking water dropped below 40 per cent capacity and 50 per cent of the historical average as viewed in this aerial photo taken on 1 June 2021, near Healdsburg, California, USA. Due to a lack of rain during the driest North Coast weather in recorded history, municipalities and farmers in Mendocino, Sonoma, and Marin Counties were put under mandatory water restrictions. Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
Lime Saddle Marina
In an aerial view, houseboats whose owners chose to leave them in the lake, float near the lake's shore at the Lime Saddle Marina for Lake Oroville near Paradise, California, USA, on 8 June 2021. Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle /Getty ImagesHouseboats float at a water level nearly 60 metres below normal at the Lime Saddle Marina for Lake Oroville near Paradise, California, USA, on Tuesday 8 June 2021. Drought has caused the water level to drop significantly in Lake Oroville, leaving houseboat owners to make a choice to leave their craft in the water or to remove them since boat ramps will not reach the low level of the water as it drops lower and lower. Photo by Carlos Avila Gonzalez/The San Francisco Chronicle/Getty Images
Lake Mendocino
Lake Mendocino's remaining water at Coyote Dam is viewed as the overall water level dropped to less than 29 per cent capacity on 2 June 2021, near Ukiah, California, USA. Photo by George Rose/Getty Images
Bidwell Canyon
Houseboats float below normal levels at the Bidwell Canyon Marina on Lake Oroville in Oroville, California, USA, 14 June 2021. Many owners are leaving their boats in the water instead of taking them to dry dock as water levels are at a record low due to chronic drought in the west of the United States.Photo by John G Mabanglo/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
Badwater Basin
Signage warns of extreme heat danger at the salt flats of Badwater Basin inside Death Valley National Park on 17 June 2021 in Inyo County, California, USA. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty ImagesVisitors take pictures at the salt flats of Badwater Basin inside Death Valley National Park on 17 June 2021 in Inyo County, California, USA. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
For more great image stories why not check out some of our other galleries:
Tourists on a road trip from Texas take pictures with a thermometer displaying temperatures of 54 °C at the Furnace Creek Visitor's Centre at Death Valley National Park, USA on 17 June 2021.Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Death Valley
Branches rest along sand dunes as clouds pass overhead at sunset inside Death Valley National Park in 17 June 2021 in Inyo County, California, USA. Much of the western United States was braced for record heat waves, with approximately 50 million Americans placed on alert on 15 June for "excessive" temperatures, which could approach 50 °C in some areas. The National Park Service warns of extreme summer heat, urging tourists to carry extra water and "travel prepared to survive" in the hottest, lowest, and driest national park featuring steady drought and extreme climates. Photo by Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
James Cutmore is the picture editor of BBC Science Focus Magazine. He has worked on the magazine and website for over a decade, telling compelling science stories through the use of striking imagery. He holds a degree in Fine Art, and has been nominated for the British Society of Magazine Editors Talent Awards, being highly commended in 2020. His main areas of interest include photography that highlights positive technology and the natural world. For many years he was a judge for the Wellcome Trust's image competition, as well as judging for the Royal Photographic Society.
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