The U.S. Drought Monitor started in 2000. Since 2000, the longest duration of drought (D1–D4) in California lasted 376 weeks beginning on December 27, 2011, and ending on March 5th, 2019. The most intense period of drought occurred the week of July 29, 2014, where D4 affected 58.41% of California land.

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California is no stranger to drought; it is a recurring feature of our climate. We recently experienced the 5-year event of 2012-2016, and other notable historical droughts included 2007-09, 1987-92, 1976-77, and off-and-on dry conditions spanning more than a decade in the 1920s and 1930s.

How widespread were the droughts? the 1950s drought had the greatest average drought area, indicating that it was the largest for the longest periodEach of these three drought episodes covered at least 60 percent of the Lower 48 States at their peak and lasted 99 months or longer.

Dust Bowl

Botswana

Afghanistan, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have reported droughts at least once in every three year period in the past five decades, while Bangladesh and Nepal also suffer from drought frequently.

The Most Drought Prone Countries in the World

1. Ethiopia. Poor harvests and recurrent insecurity in some regions of Ethiopia has led to food instability and falling food reserves across the country.
2. Sudan. About 2.8 million people in Sudan are affected by drought every year.
3. Eritrea.
4. Afghanistan.
5. China.
6. Pakistan.
7. Iran.
8. Somalia.

In the United States, droughts are most likely to occur in the Midwest and the South. In the United States, droughts can have major impact on agriculture, recreation and tourism, water supply, energy production, and transportation.

The U.S. Drought Monitor already lists 75 percent of the state in a severe drought, with 100 percent of the entire state “abnormally dry.” Water levels were 31% below normal in the state’s largest reservoir, Shasta Lake.

A region in Alabama/Georgia/South Carolina pops up as having more weeks with Extreme Drought. Counties throughout the high plains, west through the Rockies, and to the Pacific, have experienced many weeks of extreme drought in the last 20 years.

Alaska

But that same a month, as storms battered the country, a government-backed report issued a stark warning: America is running out of water. Within as little as 50 years, many regions of the United States could see their freshwater supply reduced by as much as a third, warn scientists.

One billion years from now, Earth’s atmosphere will contain very little oxygen, making it uninhabitable for complex aerobic life. Today, oxygen makes up around 21 per cent of Earth’s atmosphere.

The water shortage in the north could have drastic affects because almost half of China’s population lives on only 15 percent of its water. The situation is not sustainable. China is expected to face worsening water shortages until 2030 when the population peaks.

Tipping in China is generally uncommon and can even be considered rude or embarrassing in some circumstances. In a worst-case scenario, leaving gratuity could cause someone to feel inferior, as though they need additional charity to get by. Even worse, gratuity is illegal in airports and some establishments.

Drinking Water in China. Tap water in China is undrinkable, but it is safe to use it for washing and for brushing your teeth. Travelers can drink boiled water or easily find bottled water in convenient stores everywhere. Tap water is not drinkable.

China’s water supply has been contaminated by the dumping of toxic human and industrial waste. Pollution-induced algae blooms cause the surface of China’s lakes to turn a bright green, but greater problems may lurk beneath the surface; groundwater in 90 percent of China’s cities is contaminated.

BEIJING (Reuters) – China’s surface water quality improved in 2018, with more samples taken from river and lakes reaching standards fit for human use, the country’s environment ministry said on Monday.

10 Countries With the Worst Drinking Water

• Nations With the Worst Water. More than a quarter of the world’s population – about 2.1 billion people – lack access to clean water, according to a report released this week by the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
• Mexico.
• Congo.
• Pakistan.
• Bhutan.
• Ghana.
• Nepal.
• Cambodia.