New government maps present nearly all of the West is in drought and it is not even summer yet: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all out of doors watering to only as soon as a week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water provides and we've been preparing for it however we didn't know it would occur this fast," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The most recent authorities maps show almost all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or excessive drought.

"That is actual. That is serious. That is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, basic manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California is not alone as reservoirs throughout 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 make sure water can circulation to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with climate change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and sort of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised 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 starting to see the dominoes fall. It is drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we have now fires, and in California, there's simply this sequence of penalties that we anticipate," stated Reager.