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WMO Presser: Report - Looming Water Crisis needs monitoring and early warnings
Growing water-related hazards require monitoring and early warnings, highlights report by World Meteorological Organization (WMO)
The number of people suffering from water-related hazards like floods and droughts is increasing because of climate change. However, forecasting and early warnings are inadequate and global climate finance efforts insufficient, according to a report published today by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO).
“There has been a dramatic increase in the flooding events during the past 20 years and that increase has been of 134% and we know that because of this current 1.5 degree warming of the planet, we have more humidity in the atmosphere; we have 7% more humidity in the atmosphere because of the current warming and that is also contributing to the flooding“, said Professor Petteri Taalas, WMO’s Secretary-General, today at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva.
Most of the flood-related deaths and economic losses were recorded in Asia, where end-to-end warning systems for riverine floods require strengthening.
The number of droughts also increased by 29% over this same period. Most drought-related deaths occurred in Africa.
“We have also seen an increase in the amount of and duration of drought events”, stated WMO’s Secretary-General. “We have about 30% increase at the same time during the past 20 years and this has been very much affecting Africa where both observing systems and early warning services are perhaps the poorest. And the population growth in Africa is boosting this challenge”.
The report called “The State of Climate Services 2021: Water”, a collaboration between the WMO, international organizations, development agencies and scientific institutions, highlights the need for urgent action to improve cooperative water management and scale up investment on climate change adaptation and disaster risk reduction.
It estimates that the number of people with inadequate access to water will reach more than 5 billion by 2050 versus 3.6 billion in 2018.
“According to our sister organization FAO, there has been already 2 billion inhabitants of our planet, one fourth of our planet, where people have been exposed to major water stress and there is a lack of drinking water and also a lack of water for agriculture,“ said WMO’s Secretary-General. He added that “also the water resources management is limited according to our sister organization UNEP (UN Environment Programme). We have 107 countries which are not managing their water resources in a sustainable way.”
This past year has seen extreme rainfall caused massive flooding in Japan, China, Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan and Indian where millions of people were displaced, and hundred killed. In Europe catastrophic flooding led to hundreds of deaths and widespread damage.
According to Mr. Taalas, “sixty percent of WMO members don’t have a proper water sector services, and this is also one of the major challenges for us, and that is also one of the major challenges for climate adaptation. For climate adaptation, we need proper early warning services and the situation at the moment is not suitable.”
WMO’s Secretary-General has reason to believe that the negative trend in weather patterns will continue for coming decades. “Some of these features, like melting of glaciers and sea level rise, will continue for centuries because of the high concentration of carbon dioxide. We have to improve the observing systems and we have to improve the early warning services’ capability of especially least developed countries and that is the way to avoid both the casualties and economic losses related to climate change.”
-ends-
- Exterior wide shot, United Nations flag flying.
- Medium-wide shot, inside the press conference room, showing speakers, participants and photographers.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “There has been a dramatic increase in the flooding events during the past 20 years and that increase has been of 134% and we know that because of this current 1.5 degree warming of the planet, we have more humidity in the atmosphere; we have 7% more humidity in the atmosphere because of the current warming and that is also contributing to the flooding.”
- Close shot, a participant listening to the WMO Presser.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “And we have also seen an increase in the amount of and duration of drought events. We have about 30% increase at the same time during the past 20 years and this has been very much affecting Africa where both observing systems and early warning services are perhaps the poorest. And the population growth in Africa is boosting this challenge.”
- Medium shot of the speakers and of the press briefing broadcast on Zoom.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “According to our sister organization FAO, there has been already 2 billion inhabitants of our planet, one fourth of our planet where people have been exposed to major water stress and there is a lack of drinking water and also lack of water for agriculture.“
- Close shot, a participant listening to the WMO Presser.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “And also the water resources management is limited according to our sister organization UNEP, we have 107 countries which are not managing their water resources in a sustainable way.”
- Medium shot, photographers taking pictures of the press briefing broadcast on Zoom.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Sixty percent of WMO members don’t have a proper water sector services, and this is also one of the major challenges for us, and that is also one of the major challenges for climate adaptation. For climate adaptation, we need proper early warning services and the situation at the moment is not suitable.”
- Close shot, a participant taking notes.
- SOUNDBITE (English): Petteri Taalas, Secretary-General, World Meteorological Organization (WMO): “Some of these features, like melting of glaciers and sea level rise, will continue for centuries because of the high concentration of carbon dioxide. We have to improve the observing systems and we have to improve the early warning services’ capability of especially least developed countries and that is the way to avoid both the casualties and economic losses related to climate change.”
- Close shot, a photographer taking pictures.
- Medium shot, cameramen filming the WMO presser.
- Close shot, the Press Conference filmed by a camera.
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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
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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.
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“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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