World Meteorological Organization warns: Water resources are becoming scarcer

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said that global water resources have become scarcer in recent years, amid declining river flows, shrinking glaciers, and falling groundwater levels in many regions.

In its annual report titled “State of Global Water Resources,” released on Thursday, the organization added that Central and Eastern Europe were the most affected, particularly by declining groundwater levels in 2025.

Only a few other regions recorded such significant deficits compared to the 2014–2024 period, while groundwater levels across much of Northern Europe remained above the long-term average.

Win Jenkins, head of the Hydrology and Cryosphere Division at the WMO, said that climate change driven by human activities, increased water demand from the growing global population, and natural variability have all contributed to changes in water resources.

The WMO reported that water reserves have been steadily shrinking for more than a decade. This includes groundwater, as well as water stored in lakes, glaciers, soil, vegetation, snow, and ice.

WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo compared these reserves to a savings account that could previously help offset the impacts of drought seasons.

The report revealed that about two-thirds of monitored wells had less water last year than the long-term average.

Global river flows were also exceptionally low in 2025, which the WMO said was one of three years with the lowest river discharge rates in the past 35 years.