River flows were among driest in decades in 2025, UN says
Rivers worldwide experienced one of their driest years in decades in 2025, the UN World Meteorological Organization said on Thursday, reflecting declining water storage across the Earth's surface and raising concerns about future supplies.
In 2025, the UN World Meteorological Organization reported that river flows were among the driest in more than three decades, highlighting a decade-long decline in terrestrial water storage. This trend, detailed in the WMO State of Global Water Resources report, indicates a serious depletion of the planet's water reserves, which typically serve as a buffer during extreme dry periods.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo emphasized that this depletion represents a persistent, decade-long signal of a concerning downward trend.
The report revealed that over a third of the world's river basins experienced below-normal flows, marking one of the driest years for rivers in the past 35 years of data collection. However, the situation was not uniformly severe; certain river basins, notably parts of South Asia, received excessive water, underscoring the increasing variability and unpredictability of global water cycles.
Additionally, widespread glacier losses were documented across all regions for the fourth consecutive year, further exacerbating concerns about long-term water insecurity.
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