New government maps present almost the entire West is in drought and it’s not even summer time yet: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outdoor watering to only as soon as a week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water supplies and we've been making ready for it but we didn't know it would occur this fast," said Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The latest authorities maps show almost all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or extreme drought.

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

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

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir within 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 problem with climate change is that it takes all of the historical 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 local weather change makes it hotter and drier. 

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