New authorities maps show nearly all the West is in drought and it’s not even summer but: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outside watering to only as soon as per week.  

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

The newest authorities maps present almost all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or extreme drought.

"That is real. This is critical. This is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, common supervisor 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 fashioned 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 type of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager told CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

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

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