63 trillion gallons of groundwater lost in drought, study finds

The U.S. Drought Monitor has declared much of California to be in a state of "exceptional drought."

According to the Western Regional Climate Center in Reno, Nev., 2013 was California's driest in 119 years of records, and Los Angeles and other cities around the state recorded their lowest precipitation amounts for any calendar year.

"It calls attention to the severity of this drought," said Colin B. Amos, an assistant geology professor at Western Washington University, who was not affiliated with the study. "This is another piece of evidence that this drought is a big problem."