New authorities maps show almost the entire West is in drought and it is not even summer yet: “This is unprecedented”

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

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

The newest authorities maps show practically all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or extreme drought.

"That is actual. This is critical. This is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, basic supervisor 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 shaped by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a new pump to ensure water can move 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 advised CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

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

"We're simply beginning 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 collection of penalties that we anticipate," said Reager.