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

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to limit all outside watering to just once a week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water supplies and we have been preparing for it but we didn't know it will happen this quick," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

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

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

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

Lake Mead, the most important reservoir within the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to make sure water can move to Las Vegas. 

"The issue with climate change is that it takes all the historic patterns and form of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager instructed CBS Information' Ben Tracy. 

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

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