A large majority of the state's municipalities, 41 out of 58, are from now on covered by an emergency drought motivated by acute water shortages in northern and central California, Governor Gavin Newsom announced on Monday, Reuters reports.
The cause of the drought is the unusually high temperatures during April and May, which affected the state's access to water.
The water stock in "The Sierra Nevada snowpack", a natural water reservoir that accounts for a third of the region's water, was only 59 percent in early April, a time of year when it is usually at its peak.
About 30 percent of the state's population lives in the affected areas, about twelve million people.
They are now urged to limit their water use for, among other things, irrigation, showering, washing dishes and brushing their teeth.
May cause severe fires
The authorities are now worried that the drought could lead to a spring forest fire season of the same caliber as last year.
Even then, the fires were preceded by a drought during the first half of the year.
A 17,000 square kilometer area was ravaged by fire in 2020, a new record.
More than 30 people died and hundreds of thousands were forced to leave their homes.
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See photos from inside the fire-ravaged area Photo: Reuters / Alameda County Fire