The Southeastern part of the United States may look green, but it's dry — bone dry. The National Weather Service is calling the dry spell an "exceptional" drought.
David Stooksbury, Georgia's climatologist and a professor at the University of Georgia, says the lack of rain is even beginning to affect the region's economy.
Droughts are referred to as the Rodney Dangerfield of natural disasters, Stooksbury says, because people don't take them seriously until the situation becomes serious.
The situation in the Southeast is serious and the forecast is not calling for rain in the near future.
In Siler City, N.C., city officials are asking businesses and residents to cut down on their water consumption. Residents are responding by coming up with conservation ideas, such as taking shorter showers, using paper plates at home and reusing bath water to flush their toilets.
Even so, officials say there is less than three months of water left in the city's reservoir.
Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org. 9(MDAzMjM2NDYzMDEyMzc1Njk5NjAxNzY3OQ001))
