A UN report warns that climate change is causing unprecedented instability in the global water cycle—marked by both worse droughts and more intense floods—while stressing the need for improved monitoring and adaptation.
A UN report warns that climate change is causing unprecedented instability in the global water cycle—marked by both worse droughts and more intense floods—while stressing the need for improved monitoring and adaptation.
Climate change is increasingly disrupting Earth’s water cycle, leading to extreme variations in rainfall and drought, warns the United Nations. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reports that shrinking glaciers, unbalanced river basins, and severe floods are among the growing symptoms of rising unpredictability.
In 2024, record-breaking heat triggered extended droughts in northern South America, the Amazon Basin, and Southern Africa. Meanwhile, parts of Central Africa, Europe, and Asia experienced unusually wet weather, with devastating storms and floods. WMO noted that for six years in a row, there has been a “clear imbalance” in many of the world’s river basins.
WMO chief Celeste Saulo emphasized the gravity, saying: “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.” Scientists are also flagging diminishing water quality in key lakes and consistent glacier loss worldwide, which last year contributed about 1.2mm to global sea-level rise.
The WMO calls for enhanced monitoring, better data sharing, and greater efforts to understand the dynamics of water resources and hydrological extremes to manage the mounting risks.