The July 9 drought map from the U.S. Drought Monitor shows much of Riverside County in severe or extreme drought. Valley News/Courtesy photo
The current drought continues to worsen in California, according to the current drought map released by the U.S. Drought Monitor May 21.The weekly report shows that much of the state remains in a severe to exceptional drought, with the percentage of the area in exceptional drought growing from 5.36% of the state to 33.32% over the past three months. The percentage of the state in extreme drought grew from 35.42% to 85.44% and the percentage of the state in severe drought rose from 69.68% to 94.73% over the same time period.Those numbers mean that all but 14.56% of the state is experiencing extreme drought, and with no rain on the horizon, there’s no relief in sight.California had been drought-free in December 2019, but by February 2020, drought conditions began to reappear, s
