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

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water scarcity emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outdoor watering to simply as soon as every week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water supplies and we've been getting ready for it however we did not know it will occur this fast," stated Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

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

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

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

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

"The issue with climate change is that it takes all the historic patterns and sort of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

Reager said 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's drier, we're beginning to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we have fires, and in California, there's simply this collection of consequences that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.