The NASA photographs in this jarring GIF show how the California drought has affected Folsom Lake in just three years. Last month Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency in the region, and President Obama has pledged $183 million for drought relief programs.
B. Lynn Ingram, a professor of earth and planetary sciences at the University of California, Berkeley told The New York Times, "We are on track for having the worst drought in 500 years."