New government maps show practically the entire West is in drought and it’s not even summer season but: “That is unprecedented”

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

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

The latest authorities maps present almost all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or excessive drought.

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

California will not 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 circulate to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with climate change is that it takes all of the historic patterns and kind of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager instructed CBS News' 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's 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 consequences that we anticipate," stated Reager.