New government maps present nearly the entire West is in drought and it isn’t even summer yet: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all out of doors 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 quick," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

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

"This is real. That is severe. This is unprecedented," stated 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 most important reservoir within the nation shaped by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to ensure water can circulation to Las Vegas. 

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