New government maps show almost the entire West is in drought and it is not even summer time but: “That is unprecedented”

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

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

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

"That is real. That is severe. This is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, general supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

California is not alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir within the nation shaped 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 the historic patterns and form of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager told CBS Information' Ben Tracy. 

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

"We're simply starting to see the dominoes fall. It is drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we've got fires, and in California, there's simply this collection of consequences that we anticipate," stated Reager.