The widespread loss of glaciers in all regions has dramatic consequences for downstream communities that depend on glacier meltwater and leads to rising sea levels.
Photo: WMO
2024’s water crisis – how droughts and floods are changing our world
The year 2024 was the hottest one since records began and started with an El Niño event that affected major river basins. Only one third of river basins experienced normal conditions. This alarming conclusion was reached by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in its report “State of Global Water Resources 2024”, published in September 2025.
The remaining areas were either above or below normal levels – the sixth consecutive year of significant imbalance. The Amazon basin and other parts of South America, as well as southern Africa, suffered from severe drought, while central, western and eastern Africa, parts of Asia, and central Europe experienced above-average wet conditions.
Erratic water cycle and declining water quality
The hydrological cycle is becoming increasingly erratic. Over the past six years, only about one third of the world's river basins have had normal discharge conditions compared to the average for the years 1991–2020. This means that two thirds have too much or too little water.
The water temperatures of almost all 75 selected major lakes world-wide recorded above-average or well above-average temperatures in July, which had an impact on water quality.
Regional groundwater trends and water scarcity
Groundwater trends varied greatly from region to region. In wetter areas such as parts of Europe and India, groundwater reserves were replenished, while parts of Africa, America and Australia experienced persistent deficits.
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In some areas, excessive groundwater extraction continued to be a problem. It reduces future water availability for communities and ecosystems and puts pressure on global water resources.
Only 38 per cent of wells (out of 37,406 from 47 countries that provided groundwater data) had normal water levels – the rest were too high or too low.
Glacier melt 2024 – rising sea levels and global flood risk
2024 was the third straight year with widespread glacier loss across all regions, with dramatic consequences for downstream communities that depend on glacier meltwater.
The ice loss amounted to 450 Gt. This is equivalent to a huge block of ice 7 kilometres high, 7 km wide and 7 km deep, or enough water to fill 180 million Olympic swimming pools.
This amount of meltwater raises global sea levels by about 1.2 millimetres in a single year, contributing to flood risk for hundreds of millions of people in coastal areas.
Extreme weather events: floods, droughts, and cyclones
Heavy rainfall, flooding, and droughts caused immense regional damage in 2024. In the tropical zone of Africa, unusually heavy rainfall claimed around 2,500 lives and displaced 4 million people. Europe experienced its worst flooding since 2013, with one third of river networks exceeding flood thresholds. Asia and the Pacific region were hit by record rainfall and tropical cyclones, claiming over 1,000 lives.
Brazil experienced simultaneous extremes. Catastrophic flooding in the south of the country claimed 183 lives, while the drought of 2023 continued in the Amazon basin, affecting 59 per cent of the country's territory.
Ines Lechner, Rural 21
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