New authorities maps show almost all of the West is in drought and it isn’t even summer yet: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials declared a water scarcity emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all out of doors watering to just once every week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water provides and we have been making ready for it however we didn't know it will occur this fast," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The most recent authorities maps show nearly all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering extreme or excessive drought.

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

California will not be alone as reservoirs across the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir in the nation formed 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 the historic patterns and type of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager informed CBS News' 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 is drier, we're beginning to see less water in our reservoirs, and we've fires, and in California, there's simply this sequence of consequences that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.