Only a third of the global water reservoirs were "normal" in 2024. The rest had water levels that were either above or below normal, according to the State of global water resources report.
Water reservoirs in the Amazon and other parts of South America as well as in southern Africa were affected by severe drought last year. At the same time, it was wetter than normal in central Africa, parts of Asia and Central Europe.
"Water holds our societies together, supplies our economies and is an anchor in our ecosystems. But at the same time, the world's water systems are threatened by water-related risks that have a major impact on our lives", says Celeste Saulo, Secretary-General of the WMO in a press release.
The report shows that over the past six years, only a third of the world's rivers have had normal flows, compared to the average between 1991 and 2020.
Severe flooding occurred in, among other places, Niger, Lake Chad and Lake Volta in Ghana. Almost all of the 75 largest lakes in the world where the temperature was measured were warmer or much warmer than normal in July.
Around 3.6 billion people in the world have poor access to water for at least one month a year, according to the UN.
