Rivers around the world had one of the driest years in more than three decades in 2025, according to a new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The State of Global Water Resources 2025 report highlights the continued decline in freshwater storage and retreat of glaciers, with implications for people and economies.

Key findings:

• 2025 was one of driest years for river discharge in 35 years

• Past 7 years have seen abnormal river flows

• Water storage on Earth’s land surface has decreased in past 10 years

• Widespread glacier loss across all regions for 4th consecutive year

• Asia and Africa are the regions most affected by water-related disasters

• Water data availability has improved, but gaps remain in hard hit areas

The report shows that the global water cycle is becoming more erratic and unpredictable, swinging between too little or too much.

‘Some parts of this cycle are fast, such as precipitation, river flow and soil moisture – they respond to weather within days or weeks. Others, like groundwater, glaciers and seasonal snowpack, are slow; they accumulate or deplete over seasons to decades or longer. Traditionally, these slow reserves have acted as the planet's savings account: a buffer that absorbs bad years so that a single drought or a single dry season does not translate directly into a water crisis,’ says WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.

‘We are depleting that savings account.’

The report says global terrestrial water storage has shown a declining trend since 2014–2016. For the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region recorded a net loss of ice mass. Groundwater also showed widespread anomalies, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide outside their historical range in 2025.

Saulo also points to the growing impact of water-related disasters, noting that the strengthening El Niño could increase the risk of drought in some areas and flooding in others. The report highlights record-breaking floods and droughts in each of the past five years from 2021 to 2025, with some places experiencing little recovery time between events.

The report brings together observations, model outputs and satellite data from National Meteorological and Hydrological Services, data centres, researchers and partner institutions. It has expanded from three to 15 hydrological variables since the first edition in 2021, while country coverage has also increased.

However, Africa and Asia remain among the least represented regions in terms of hydrological observations, despite being among those most affected by water-related extremes. 

DHI’s contribution

DHI supported the report with data from the DHI Global Hydrological Model. The model combines high-resolution satellite information with global datasets on weather, rivers, lakes, reservoirs, soil and landscapes. This makes it possible to estimate water conditions even in places without direct measurements. By filling these gaps, the DHI Global Hydrological Model improves global water mapping and gives decision-makers better information in regions where data is scarce.

By supporting WMO’s efforts to build a clearer picture of global water resources, DHI helps bring science into practice for more informed water management worldwide, aligning with our mission to enable a sustainable future for water and water environments.

About the WMO report
The annual State of Global Water Resources Report is one of a suite of WMO reports which provide intelligence and insights to decision-makers. It is an authoritative assessment of global freshwater availability, including streamflow, reservoirs, lakes, groundwater, soil moisture, snow and ice. It is based on data contributed by WMO Members, as well as information from global hydrological modelling systems and satellite observations from a wide range of partners.

More about DHI’s Global Hydrological Model 

A Global Hydrological Model is a tool for looking at hydrology from the perspective of the Earth as one interconnected system, rather than disconnected and isolated parts. They are basically used for better understanding, predicting and managing water resources on regional, national and global scales. DHI-GHM is unique in the way it handles areas with limited or no local observations. Because it directly accounts for the detailed physical characteristics of landscapes using satellite data, the results from these data-scarce areas are highly reliable and useful in situations where monitoring is a challenge.