New government maps present nearly the entire West is in drought and it isn’t even summer time but: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outdoor watering to only once a week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water provides and we have been making ready for it however we did not know it will occur this quick," stated Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The newest government maps show nearly the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or extreme drought.

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

California is just not alone as reservoirs across the West are draining.  

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

"The issue with local weather change is that it takes all the historical patterns and type of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager told CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

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

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