New authorities maps present almost all of the West is in drought and it isn’t even summer season yet: “That is unprecedented”

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

"We knew climate change would stress our water supplies and we've been getting ready for it however we didn't know it would happen this quick," said Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

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

"That is actual. This is serious. That is unprecedented," mentioned Adel Hagekhalil, normal manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

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

Lake Mead, the biggest reservoir within the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to make sure water can circulate to Las Vegas. 

"The issue with climate change is that it takes all of the historic patterns and form of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager informed CBS News' Ben Tracy. 

Reager stated 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 got fires, and in California, there's simply this sequence of penalties that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.