New government maps present nearly all the West is in drought and it isn’t even summer but: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outdoor watering to only as soon as a week.  

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

The newest authorities maps present practically the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or excessive drought.

"That is real. This is critical. This is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, general supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California is not alone as reservoirs across the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to ensure water can movement to Las Vegas. 

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