By: ALEXANDER TAYLOR
Staff Writer
Due to the amount of rain California has received since late last year, Half of California has been freed from drought. However, low groundwater remains a problem.
A new survey shows that a moderate drought covers about 49% of the state while nearly 17% of the state is free of drought or abnormally dry. The remainder is left in drought. Only three months ago mostly the entire state was in extreme drought. This caused agricultural problems across the state with the Water Agencies being told not to expect many allocations.
“Clearly the amount of water that’s fallen this year has greatly alleviated the drought,” said Daniel Swain, a climate scientist at the University of California, Los Angeles. “It has not ended the drought completely but we’re in a very different place than we were a year ago.”
The latest drought in the state began in 2020. The central Sierra and foothills are now free of drought or abnormal dryness for the first time since then. The central coast from Monterey Bay to Los Angeles County is also now drought-free, along with two counties on the far north coast.