Angelika Michael has been known to brag about that there's usually not a drop of rain between the months of April and September in San Francisco, which is actually true. But if then there's hardly any rain between October and March as well, that's a problem, especially if this condition reoccurs for a few years in a row. And if you remember that we've had a similar situation in 2009 (Rundbrief 03/2009), then you are an astute reader with commendable memory.

Back then, it was governor Arnold Schwarzenegger who declared a state of emergency because of the drought, this time it was Jerry Brown's turn in January. The most important thing right now is saving water voluntarily simply by using less. The goal is a 20% reduction of water use, and Californians are really taking it seriously. For the record, this is the 3rd time since 1987, that there's a declared state of emergency because of a prolonged drought in California, and this time, the message arrived loud and clearly in even in San Francisco.

In January, the air quality over San Francisco was unusally bad, we were reminded of how it's like in Los Angeles! On a normal day, there's always a light breeze over San Francisco, with some fog providing pleasant humidity, but a few days in January were really warm and calm, which badly impacted the air quality and some smog appeared over the Bay. Ski resorts near Lake Tahoe also had a hard time for lack of snow, and a big wildfire was blazing near Big Sur at Highway One. Crazy, I know, because ususally around that time of year it rather feels like a rain forest in this area.

Some Farmers in the southern parts of California had to sell some of their live stock, because the grass won't turn green in these dry conditions and many can't afford to buy expensive feed or hay. According to estimates, because of the drought, about 300 to 450 square miles of farmland in Fresno county can't be used at all this year. Farming requires about 80% of California's water every year.

Last week, finally, we received a few drops of rain, and people were quite relieved, but quickly added that it was nowhere near enough and we need a lot more in the coming months. The lack of rain is really an ongoing discussion, and people are talking about it everywhere, be it around the corner at Martha's coffee shop or while lining up at the supermarket register.

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