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UNOG Bi-weekly press briefing 09 February 2021
La Niña update
Clare Nullis, for the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), said that the 2020-2021 La Niña event had passed its peak, but its impacts lingered and land temperatures were expected to be above normal for most parts of the globe in February-April 2021. There was a 70 per cent chance that the tropical Pacific would return to ENSO-neutral conditions by the April-June 2021 season. El Niño and La Niña were major, but not the only, climate drivers. WMO’s Global Seasonal Climate Update incorporated the influences of all other major climate drivers, such as the North Atlantic Oscillation, the Arctic Oscillation and the Indian Ocean Dipole. It should be recalled that all naturally occurring climate events now took place in the context of human-induced climate change.
The full press release can be found here.
Human Rights Council announcements
Rolando Gomez, for the Human Rights Council (HRC), said that the Human Rights Council would be holding a special session on the human rights implications of the crisis in Myanmar on Friday, 12 February. The special session was being convened following an official request submitted by the United Kingdom and the European Union, which had been supported by 47 States thus far. The meeting would take place in the Assembly Hall; however, due to COVID-19 measures, the majority of interventions would be virtual, and the media were encouraged to follow the meeting via the webcast, which would be available in six languages. More details, including the draft resolution, would be announced after the preparatory meeting on 11 February.
Mr. Gomez also said that some 30 draft resolutions were expected to be submitted for consideration at the forty-sixth session of the Human Rights Council, to be held from 22 February to 23 March.
Mr. Gomez drew attention to the remarks of the President of the Human Rights Council, Ambassador Khan of Fiji, regarding the stated intention of the United States of America to re-engage with the Council, in which she had welcomed the United States announcement and recalled that constructive engagement by all members of the international community at the Council was vital to the Council’s ability to deliver on its mandate of promoting and protecting all human rights.
Mr. Gomez also referred to Ambassador Khan’s inaugural address, in which she had stated that the Council, and the constructive and inclusive nature of the dialogue it was able to host, were crucial to building fairer, resilient societies built on human dignity and equality. Thus, the Council took on a role capable of transforming social, national and global relationships.
Lastly, Mr. Gomez said that Ambassador Khan would be hosted the traditional pre-session breakfast meeting with the media on 17 February. Details were forthcoming.
Geneva announcements
Alessandra Vellucci, for the United Nations Information Service, on behalf of Jenifer Fenton, of the Office of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Syria, said that the Special Envoy for Syria, Mr. Geir O. Pedersen, would be briefing the Security Council at a closed meeting today, at 10 a.m. EST. After the briefing, at a time to be confirmed, Mr. Pedersen intended to give brief remarks to the media, which could be viewed on UNTV. Time permitting, Mr. Pedersen would also answer a few questions.
Ms. Vellucci announced that the Conference on Disarmament would hold its next public plenary meeting on 10 February, at 10 a.m., still under the presidency of Ambassador Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve of Belgium.
Ms. Vellucci also announced that the theme for International Day of Women and Girls in Science, on 11 February, was women scientists at the forefront of fight against COVID-19. The Secretary-General and the President of the General Assembly would participate in a virtual commemoration entitled “Beyond the Borders: Equality in Science for Society”, hosted by the Royal Academy of Science International Trust and a number of permanent missions. In addition, UN-Women would be hosting a live Instagram conversation with teenage scientists and inventors and the Times 2020 Kid of the Year, Gitanjali Rao. The full programme of events would be announced shortly.
Responding to a question, Ms. Vellucci said that a total of 219 Secretariat staff had tested positive for COVID-19 since March 2020.
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Edited News , Press Conferences | WMO
As world’s water reserves change, countries must prepare for a new reality: WMO
New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
- 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years
- Past seven years have seen abnorfmal river flows
- Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past decade
- Widespread glacier loss across all regions for fourth consecutive year
- Asia and Africa are regions most affected by water-related disasters
- Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard-hit areas
Highlighting the long-term decline in the Earth’s freshwater storage and glacier melt, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that the planet’s water reserves used to act as a planetary “savings account” that absorbed the occasional dry season, avoiding a water crisis. “One of the central stories of the 2025 report is what is happening to that savings account? And the simple answer is that we are depleting it,” she told journalists in Geneva.
Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
“At the same time, we are seeing more water-related disasters,” Ms. Saulo said, while also stressing that the currently strengthening El Niño “will increase the risk of drought in some areas, and flooding in others”.
Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
“All 19 glacier regions around the globe lost ice; in Central Asia, Iceland, the Russian Arctic and western Canada and the United States, it was among the three worst years on record,” said Wayne Jenkinson, WMO’s Director of Hydrology and Cryosphere.
Some regions with smaller glaciers such as Central Europe, the Caucasus, the western Canada and the United States may already have reached “peak water”, Mr. Jenkinson warned.
“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
Narelle van der Wel, WMO’s Head of Cryosphere Monitoring, Predictions and Services, stressed that while some further glacier loss is unavoidable, the eventual scale of the decline is not predetermined.
“Some glacier loss is inevitable, but total loss of glaciers is not yet inevitable,” she said, pointing to emissions reductions as central to limiting future losses.
Preparing for moving baselines
The report does not attribute every observed change to climate change alone. WMO says pressure on water resources and natural variability also contribute.
Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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