The water cycle has become increasingly erratic and extreme, swinging between deluge and drought, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). It highlights the cascading impacts of too much or too little water on economies and society.
The State of Global Water Resources report says only about one-third of the global river basins had "normal" conditions in 2024. The rest were either above or below normal - the sixth consecutive year of clear imbalance.
2024 was the third straight year with widespread glacier loss across all regions. Many small-glacier regions have already reached or are about to passthe so-called peak water point - when a glacier's melting reaches its maximum annual runoff, after which this decreases due to glacier shrinkage.
The Amazon Basin and other parts of South America, as well as southern Africa were gripped by severe drought in 2024, whilst there were wetter-than-normal conditions in central, western and eastern Africa, parts of Asia and Central Europe, it says.
"Water sustains our societies, powers our economies and anchors our ecosystems. And yet the world's water resources are under growing pressure and - at the same time - more extreme water-related hazards are having an increasing impact on lives and livelihoods," said WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
"Reliable, science-based information is more important than ever before because we cannot manage what we do not measure. The WMO's State of Global Water Resources Report 2024 is part of WMO's commitment to provide that knowledge," she said.
The annual State of Global Water Resources Report is one of a suite of WMO reports which provide intelligence and insights to decision-makers. It is an authoritative assessment of global freshwater availability, including streamflow, reservoirs, lakes, groundwater, soil moisture, snow and ice. It is based on data contributed by WMO Members, as well as information from global hydrological modelling systems and satellite observations from a wide range of partners.
The report highlights the critical need for improved monitoring and data sharing.
"Continued investment and enhanced collaboration in data sharing are vital to close monitoring gaps. Without data, we risk flying blind," said Celeste Saulo.
An estimated 3.6 billion people face inadequate access to water at least a month per year and this is expected to increase to more than 5 billion by 2050, according to UN Water, and the world falling far short of Sustainable Development Goal 6 on water and sanitation.
