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

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all outdoor watering to just as soon as every 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 will happen this fast," said Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The newest government maps show almost the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or excessive drought.

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

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

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir within the nation shaped by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to make sure water can stream to Las Vegas. 

"The issue with local weather change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and kind of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager told 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 is drier, we're beginning to see less water in our reservoirs, and we have fires, and in California, there's simply this collection of consequences that we anticipate," said Reager.