New authorities maps present nearly all the West is in drought and it is not even summer time yet: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outside watering to only once every week.  

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

The latest government maps present practically the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering extreme or excessive drought.

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

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

Lake Mead, the most important reservoir in the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to ensure water can flow to Las Vegas. 

"The issue with local weather 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 mentioned 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 is drier, we're starting to see less water in our reservoirs, and now we have fires, and in California, there's simply this sequence of consequences that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.