New authorities maps present practically the entire West is in drought and it’s not even summer time but: “This is unprecedented”

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

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

The latest government maps present almost all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or excessive drought.

"That is actual. This is severe. That is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California shouldn't be alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to make sure water can stream to Las Vegas. 

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

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

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