Southern California water management officials declared an unprecedented water shortage emergency on Tuesday amid the extreme and historic drought. Effective June 1, the order by the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California covers about 6 million people across parts of Los Angeles, Ventura and San Bernardino counties and will restrict outdoor water usage to one day per week and will impose large fines on cities and smaller water suppliers that fail to sufficiently cut water demand. Climate change is making droughts more likely to occur — and more severe when they do — while also driving up temperatures which can exacerbate drought in a vicious cycle of dedication that in turn makes the region more vulnerable to extreme wildfires. (LA Times $, CAL Matters; Climate Signals background: Western U.S. megadrought)
