New government maps show almost all the West is in drought and it isn’t even summer but: “That is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to limit all outdoor watering to only as soon as every week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water provides and we have been preparing for it but we did not know it will occur this quick," mentioned Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Directors.  

The latest government maps present almost all of the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering severe or excessive drought.

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

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

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

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

Reager said 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's drier, we're beginning 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," said Reager.