The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Thursday that according to his latest report In assessing the state of global water resources, the world would experience increasingly abnormal water supplies due to decades of evidence of disruption in freshwater resources, including river courses, groundwater and glaciers.
The WMO report shows that 2025 was one of the driest years for river flows globally in 35 years, with below-average flows observed in 36 percent of the world’s river basin area. In August 2026, Romania experienced record low water levels in the Danube, leading to the shutdown of a nuclear power plant and disruptions to power supplies.
In addition, WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo explained that terrestrial water storage has been declining since 2014, while groundwater levels in many regions have declined over several years. Additionally, in 2025, nearly two-thirds of monitored groundwater wells were outside their normal range, and conditions are trending toward deficit rather than recovery.
Saulo also emphasized that water-related extreme events such as glacier melt pose significant risks to economies and communities, noting that every major glacial region on Earth has lost ice for the fourth year in a row. Wayne Jenkinson, WOM’s director of hydrology and cryosphere, added that some regions, such as central Europe, western Canada and the US, have already peaked. Celeste Saulo explained that groundwater, glaciers, snow and other fresh water stored on land serve as Earth’s water “savings account,” They provide a buffer during hot seasons and droughts, but these reserves are currently being depleted.
However, Narelle van der Wel, WMO lead for cryosphere monitoring, predictions and services, stressed that while further glacier loss is inevitable, the extent of the decline is not predetermined, and stressed that limiting further losses remains possible if emissions are reduced. Accordingly, the WMO report does not attribute water scarcity solely to climate change. The organization noted that pressure on water resources from expanding industries such as artificial intelligence and data centers, in addition to natural fluctuations, is also contributing to water shortages.
Therefore, the WMO called on world leaders to prepare for future developments related to water scarcity, emphasizing that radical changes in water conditions have already taken place. It also emphasized that preparedness requires better water monitoring, data sharing and coordinated early warnings to enable effective responses.
The WMO report comes weeks after Nepal was hit by deadly flash floods due to a glacier collapse and a landslide near Nepal’s border with China, leading to thousands of deaths and a humanitarian crisis.
In 2021, the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) released a report showing that the depletion of natural resources, including water risks, is the cause of violent conflict between nations. Other studies suggest that increasing water scarcity has the potential to trigger armed conflict in the future. In addition to water shortages, another problem communities face is contamination of drinking water with polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), so-called “forever chemicals.”
