This year, the Southwest United States has been experiencing gripping heat and unprecedented drought, a cycle of misery more intense than anything recorded in the 20-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor. And the dynamic is predicted to only worsen throughout the summer. California reservoirs are 50 percent lower than they usually are this time of year, according to the AP, and large swaths of the country are set up for an exceptionally dangerous wildfire season.
Here, photos show the early devastation from a bird’s eye view.
Vehicles driving on the California 14 Highway as solar panels, part of an electricity generation plant, stand on June 18, 2021 in Kern County near Mojave, California. The California ISO extended a Flex Alert asking customers to conserve electricity amid concerns of power outages during the heat wave.
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Houseboats whose owners chose to leave them in the lake, float at a water level nearly 200 feet below normal at the Lime Saddle Marina for Lake Oroville near Paradise, Calif., on Tuesday, June 8, 2021.
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Boat docks at the Browns Ravine Cove sit on dry earth at Folsom Lake on May 10, 2021 in El Dorado Hills, California.
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Low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on June 01, 2021 in Oroville, California. As the extreme drought takes hold in California, water levels at reservoirs are falling fast. Lake Oroville is currently at 38 percent of capacity.
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A car travels across Enterprise Bridge above Oroville Lake during low water levels in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
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Rows of almond trees sit on the ground during an orchard removal project on May 26, 2021 in Snelling, California. As the drought emergency takes hold in California, some farmers are having to remove crops that require excessive watering due to a shortage of water in the Central Valley. A Central Valley farmer had 600 acres of his almond orchard removed and shredded and now plans to replace the almonds with a crop the requires less water.
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Grounds marked with previous water levels at Oroville Lake in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images"
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Mineral-stained rocks are shown at Echo Bay on June 21, 2021 in the Lake Mead National Recreation Area, Nevada. The U.S. Bureau of Reclamation reported that Lake Mead, North America's largest artificial reservoir, dropped to just over 1,070 feet above sea level over the weekend, the lowest it's been since being filled in 1937 after the construction of the Hoover Dam.
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A closed boat ramp at Oroville Lake during low water levels in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
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A tractor kicks up dust as it plows a dry field on May 26, 2021 in Chowchilla, California. As California enters an extreme drought emergency, water is starting to become scarce in California's Central Valley, one of the most productive agricultural regions in the world.
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Steep banks surround boats on Oroville Lake during low water levels in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
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Steep banks marked with previous water lines surround boats on Oroville Lake during low water levels in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021.
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This undated file photo shows the dam at Elephant Butte Lake in Elephant Butte, N.M. Many New Mexico communities are behind the curve when it comes to investing in drinking water infrastructure as persistent drought threatens supplies, and the state's fragmented funding process makes it hard to know what taxpayers are getting for their money, legislative analysts said Wednesday, June 23, 2021.
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Low water levels are visible at Lake Oroville on April 27, 2021 in Oroville, California.
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The floodgates of the completely dry Berenda Reservoir in Chowchilla, California, U.S., on Monday, June 21, 2021.
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"Steep banks surround a boat as it travels on Oroville Lake during low water levels in Oroville, California, U.S., on Tuesday, June 22, 2021. Almost three-fourths of the western U.S. is gripped by drought so severe that its off the charts of anything recorded in the 20-year history of the U.S. Drought Monitor. Photographer: Kyle Grillot/Bloomberg via Getty Images"
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