New authorities maps present practically the entire West is in drought and it’s not even summer season yet: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water shortage emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to limit all outside watering to simply once a week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water provides and we have been making ready for it but we did not know it could occur this fast," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The latest government maps show nearly the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or extreme drought.

"This is real. This is serious. This is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, basic supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California just isn't alone as reservoirs across the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a new pump to ensure water can circulate to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with local weather change is that it takes all the historical patterns and form of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager instructed CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

Reager said the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as climate change makes it hotter and drier. 

"We're just beginning to see the dominoes fall. It's drier, we're beginning to see less water in our reservoirs, and now we have fires, and in California, there's simply this sequence of penalties that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.