The United Nations reported in its latest publication that global water reserves have reached a critical threshold.
The World Meteorological Organization (WMO), affiliated with the United Nations (UN), announced in its annual report that the global water cycle is losing its balance, swinging between extreme drought and sudden floods. The "State of Global Water Resources" report prepared by the WMO stated that the planet's freshwater reserves, consisting of lakes, rivers, soil moisture, glaciers, and groundwater, have been continuously declining over the past decade. It was noted that 2025, one of the hottest years on record, was among the driest periods for river flows in the last 35 years, and approximately two-thirds of the monitored groundwater wells worldwide have deviated from historical norms.
The report highlighted that the mass loss in glaciers has reached critical levels, with 1,400 gigatons of glacier water melting cumulatively between 2023 and 2025. This loss corresponds to about one-third of the total freshwater consumed globally in a year.
'DROUGHT DIRECTLY TURNS INTO WATER CRISIS'
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo stated that groundwater and glaciers are a 'savings account' that prevents a water crisis during bad years for the planet, warning, "We are depleting the planet's reserves. Now, a single drought directly turns into a water crisis."
Saulo said that the El Nino weather event, expected to reach its strongest phase in the last forty years, will further disrupt the global water balance; while severe drought is expected in certain geographies, the risk of devastating floods and inundations will rise in other regions.
