New authorities maps present nearly the entire West is in drought and it isn’t even summer yet: “This is unprecedented”

In an unprecedented transfer, Southern California officials declared a water shortage emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to limit all outside watering to simply once a week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water supplies and we have been getting ready for it however we did not know it will happen this quick," mentioned Gloria Grey, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The latest authorities maps present nearly all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is struggling severe or excessive drought.

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

California shouldn't be alone as reservoirs throughout the West are draining.  

Lake Mead, the largest reservoir within the nation fashioned by the Hoover Dam on the Colorado River, wants a brand new pump to ensure water can stream to Las Vegas. 

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

Reager mentioned 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 is drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and now we have fires, and in California, there's simply this series of consequences that we anticipate," stated Reager.