The world is entering a period of persistently abnormal water supplies, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned as it presented its latest State of Global Water Resources report. WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said the findings represented a sustained, decade-long pattern rather than one unusually poor year.
The report says 2025 was among the driest years for global river flows in 35 years. Discharge was below normal across 36 per cent of the world’s river-basin area, and it was the seventh consecutive year in which rivers with historically normal flows were in a minority. WMO said water-related extreme events continue to cause severe damage to communities and economies.
Freshwater stored in groundwater, glaciers, snow, soil and lakes normally helps cushion the effects of drought and dry seasons. Saulo said this reserve was being depleted: terrestrial water storage has declined since about 2014-2016, while groundwater levels in many areas have fallen for several years. Nearly two-thirds of monitored groundwater wells were outside their normal range in 2025, with conditions tending towards deficit rather than recovery.
Glaciers also continued to lose ice. All 19 glacier regions recorded losses for a fourth consecutive year, according to WMO hydrology and cryosphere director Wayne Jenkinson. Glaciers lost about 408 gigatonnes of ice in 2025, while losses from 2023 through 2025 reached roughly 1,400 gigatonnes. Jenkinson said some areas with smaller glaciers may have reached “peak water”, after which annual meltwater declines as less ice remains.
The report noted some improvements, including partial recovery of water storage in parts of South America and unusually high water levels in several major lakes in central and southern Africa. It also said the observed changes were not all attributed to climate change, with resource pressure and natural variability also contributing. WMO official Narelle van der Wel said emissions cuts could still limit the eventual scale of glacier loss.
Asia and Africa accounted for at least half of reported water-related extreme events and more than 80 per cent of associated deaths over the past five years, while both regions have major gaps in water observations. WMO said monitoring has expanded to 52 countries and more than 3,100 river-flow stations, but called for further data-sharing, common standards and shared early-warning systems because water hazards cross national borders.