So the world...the world is pretty fubar, at least half of it anyway. Actually fubar would be an understatement. It's just starting to regain its former luster, you know mother nature always wins.
Cities once teeming with intelligent life are now overgrown with vegetation and have been taken over by animals and with the ever looming threat of extinction almost gone, animals have been able to reproduce their numbers. Fish, although not fully repopulated have been thriving in the new lakes and rivers now that the radiation is gone. A lot of people who live in the new cities make a living by spelunking through old buildings for artifacts that may be useful. The rain won't melt your skin, hell it most likely won't make you sick, but a lot of people are still skeptical about it and caution others to stay inside.
Half the world is still barren, desert barren. Most of the lakes on this half has either dried up due to massive drought, or is just straight up not safe to be around let alone drink from. Occasionally an oasis or two can be found, but not without its dangers. mutated creatures gather around some of these watering holes and a lot of them are hostile, not to mention thieves, murderers and like. Cities in this part of the world are overrun with sand, what's left of the destroyed buildings lay in ruin. Temperatures can be quite quite taxing on a person with the blistering heat and rainstorms are not something you want to get caught in for extended amounts of time...just take my word for it. Any lakes that can be found...eeeeeeeeeeeeeh stay away just to be on the safe side.