New government maps present nearly all of 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 requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outdoor watering to only once every week.  

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

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

"This is actual. That is serious. This is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, basic manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

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

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to make sure water can move 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 advised 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 just starting to see the dominoes fall. It is drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we've got fires, and in California, there's simply this sequence of penalties that we anticipate," stated Reager.