These satellite images show the stark contrast of the Angeles National Forest and the San Gabriel Reservoir outside the Los Angeles metro area from 2020 to 2021 and highlight the severity of the drought that the western United States faces. The top image shows the southern California landscape in June of 2020 in relatively lush vegetation cover and reservoir level contrasted with the image from this June below. In 2021 we see a dry, red landscape with little vegetation and a significantly reduced water level in the San Gabriel Reservoir.
California has experienced a severe drought for nearly a decade with little reprieve and just had its driest February in 150 years, leading to reduced snowpack and runoff that much of the state relies on for its drinking water.The dry conditions also escalate the probability of wildfire – something California and the western US have become all too familiar with in the last decade. Last year was the worst fire season in the state's history but with severely reduced rainfall and snowmelt and soaring heatwaves, it could easily surpass the record the state set in 2020.
The images were captured by the European Space Agency's Sentinel satellite.
Link to original article: https://www.theverge.com/2021/6/22/22545107/satellite-images-california-drought-water-esa
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