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

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

"We knew climate change would stress our water provides and we have been making ready for it but we did not know it could happen this quick," mentioned Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The latest government maps present almost the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or extreme drought.

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

California is not alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the most important reservoir within the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a new pump to ensure water can stream to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with local weather change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and form of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager told 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 is drier, we're beginning to see less water in our reservoirs, and we have now fires, and in California, there's just this series of penalties that we anticipate," stated Reager.