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

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to limit 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," mentioned Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The newest authorities maps present practically all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling extreme or excessive drought.

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

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

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

"The problem with climate change is that it takes all the historical patterns and kind of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised 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 just beginning to see the dominoes fall. It's drier, we're starting to see less water in our reservoirs, and now we have fires, and in California, there's just this series of penalties that we anticipate," said Reager.