According to the United States Drought Monitor, approximately 34 percent of the contiguous United States was in at least a moderate drought as of this week, with an additional 12 percent characterized as "abnormally dry."

Drought remains the most severe in California, where 82 percent of the state is categorized as experiencing "extreme drought" or worse, and 36 percent as experiencing "exceptional drought," the category of greatest severity.

READ MORE: California Has 12-18 Months Of Water Left

Drought levels peaked in May of this year, when 40 percent of the country was in a drought of at least moderate severity. According to a New York Times analysis of historical data, "the country is in the midst of one of its most sustained periods of increasing drought on record."

See the map of drought across the United States at The New York Times.

Contact Senior Opinion Editor Francesca Bessey here; follow her here.