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

In an unprecedented move, Southern California officers declared a water scarcity emergency and asked roughly 6 million residents to restrict all outside watering to just as soon as per week.  

"We knew climate change would stress our water supplies and we have been preparing for it but we did not know it could occur this quick," said Gloria Gray, chairwoman of the Metropolitan Water District Board of Administrators.  

The newest authorities maps present nearly all the West is in drought, and 95% of California is suffering extreme or extreme drought.

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

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

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

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

Reager said the West is in a 22-year megadrought, as local weather change makes it hotter and drier. 

"We're just starting to see the dominoes fall. It's drier, we're starting to see much less water in our reservoirs, and we have fires, and in California, there's just this collection of consequences that we anticipate," mentioned Reager.