New government maps show nearly the entire West is in drought and it’s not even summer season but: “That is unprecedented”

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

"We knew climate change would stress our water supplies and we have been getting ready for it but we didn't know it would occur this fast," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

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

"This is real. This is serious. That is unprecedented," stated Adel Hagekhalil, basic supervisor for the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California.  

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

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

"The problem with local weather change is that it takes all of the historical patterns and type of shifts them," NASA scientist Dr. JT Reager instructed 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 just beginning to see the dominoes fall. It is drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we have fires, and in California, there's simply this collection of penalties that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.