New authorities maps present practically all of the West is in drought and it is not even summer yet: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity 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 provides and we've been getting ready for it however we did not know it could happen this fast," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The most recent government maps show nearly the entire West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or excessive drought.

"That is real. That is critical. That is unprecedented," said Adel Hagekhalil, general manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California will not be alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir in the nation formed by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, needs a new pump to ensure water can circulate to Las Vegas. 

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

Reager said the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as local weather change makes it hotter and drier. 

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