The global water cycle is becoming more and more erratic, moving between drought and flooding with serious consequences for society and economies, warned the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in its State of Global Water Resources 2024 report published on Thursday.
The study found that only one-third of the river basins around the world experienced “normal” conditions last year, with the rest either above or below the average-there, the sixth consecutive year marked with imbalance.
It also reported the third equal year of widespread glacier loss, with 450 gigaton’s ice cream disappeared, raising global sea levels by 1.2 millimeters in a single year.
Pakistan among wetter than normal regions
While severe drought grabbed the Amazon basin, parts of South America and southern Africa, the report noted that Pakistan experienced wetter than the average in 2024.
It added that river emissions in the Indus basin caught over normal levels along with other larger systems such as the Danube, Ganges and Godavari.
Pakistan, who is already vulnerable to climate -connected extremes, remains exposed to both flooding and water button. The country experienced catastrophic flooding in 2022, followed by irregular monsoon patterns, and continues to face challenges in managing water resources in the midst of fast glacier melt in the Himalayas.
Cascading global risks
WMO General Secretary Celeste Saulo said the world’s water resources are under “growing pressure” where extremes become more harmful.
“Reliable, science -based information is more important than ever before, because we can’t control what we don’t measure,” she emphasized, calling for major investment in surveillance and data sharing.
The report highlighted extensive floods over West Africa, elevated river discharge in Central Europe and Asia and sustained droughts in the most important South American and African basins.
Almost all monitored lakes registered higher than normal summer surface temperatures, raising the concerns of water quality. Groundwater monitoring showed only 38% of wells at normal levels, with many suffering from depletion due to over -extraction.
With 3.6 billion people who are already facing water knobs for at least one month each year-a figure expected to surpass 5 billion in 2050-domested WMO that the world is far from track from reaching sustainable development target 6 on water and sanitation.
“The risk escalates,” Saulo warned, pointing to the combination of El Niño-driven weather, detecting global heat in 2024 and accelerating glacier loss. “Without better data and cooperation, we risk flying blind.”
