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

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and requested roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outdoor watering to only once a week.  

"We knew local weather change would stress our water supplies and we've been making ready for it but we did not know it will occur this fast," stated Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The newest authorities maps show almost all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling extreme or excessive drought.

"This is actual. This is critical. This is unprecedented," stated Adel Hagekhalil, normal manager for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

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

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

"The issue with climate change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and sort of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager advised CBS Information' 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 have now fires, and in California, there's simply this collection of consequences that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.