Climate
World's rivers among driest on record in 2025, UN water report finds
September 17, 2026 at 01:00 PM
Coverage
2 reports · 1 in Arabic, 1 in English · over 5 hours
The World Meteorological Organization's annual water report found river flows in 2025 were among their lowest in 35 years, with global terrestrial water storage 42% below normal.
- The WMO's "State of Global Water Resources" report, released Thursday, found freshwater stored on and beneath the ground was 42% below normal in 2025.
- About two-thirds of monitored wells recorded groundwater levels below their long-term average, with central and eastern Europe most affected.
- All 19 major glacial regions lost ice mass for the fourth consecutive year, a 400-gigaton loss that added 1.1mm to global sea levels.
- WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said "we are depleting that savings account," while hydrology director Wayne Jenkinson called for increased data collection and sharing.