New authorities maps present almost all the West is in drought and it is not even summer but: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water shortage emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outside watering to just as soon as every week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water provides and we've been making ready for it however 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 show practically all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or extreme drought.

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

California isn't alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

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

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

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

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