New government maps present practically all of the West is in drought and it’s not even summer but: “This is unprecedented”

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

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

The most recent government maps show practically all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering extreme or excessive drought.

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

California will not be alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the most important reservoir in the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to ensure water can circulate to Las Vegas. 

"The issue with local weather change is that it takes all the historic patterns and sort of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

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

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