New government maps present nearly all of the West is in drought and it is not even summer but: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all out of doors watering to just as soon as per week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water provides and we have been making ready for it but we didn't know it would happen this fast," said Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The most recent authorities maps show practically all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or extreme drought.

"This is real. That is serious. That 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 biggest reservoir in the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to ensure water can circulate to Las Vegas. 

"The problem with climate change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and kind of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager informed CBS Information' Ben Tracy. 

Reager mentioned the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as climate change makes it hotter and drier. 

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