{
  "id": 7946174,
  "title": "Klima und Wasser: WMO: Die weltweiten Wasserspeicher schrumpfen",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/17/klima-und-wasser-wmo-die-weltweiten-wasserspeicher-schrumpfen",
  "topic": "science",
  "section": "Science",
  "published": "2026-09-17T04:00:10.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Handelsblatt",
    "slug": "handelsblatt",
    "url": "https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/forschung-innovation/klima-und-wasser-wmo-die-weltweiten-wasserspeicher-schrumpfen/100255211.html"
  },
  "original_language": "de",
  "account": "According to a recent report by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), global water resources have become scarcer in recent years. The flow from rivers has decreased, glaciers have shrunk, and groundwater levels have dropped in many regions of the world, as reported by the WMO in its annual water report. Central and Eastern Europe were particularly affected in 2025, with the deficit concerning groundwater levels being the largest over the period from 2014 to 2024, according to the WMO. In most of Northern Europe, however, the groundwater level was still above the long-term average. Human-induced climate change, increasing water needs of a growing global population, and natural fluctuations played a role in the development of water resources, said Wayne Jenkinson, Director of the WMO's Hydrology and Cryosphere Division. Over the past decade, global water reserves have been continuously shrinking, including groundwater, water in lakes, glaciers, soils, vegetation, snow, and ice. These reserves act like a savings account, which could previously be used to balance a drought year, said WMO chief Celeste Saulo. \"We are depleting this savings account,\" she emphasized. Nearly two-thirds of the monitored wells had less water in the past year than the long-term average. The volume of water flowing from rivers worldwide was as low as rarely seen in the past 35 years in 2025, the WMO reported. 2025 was one of the three years with the lowest flow. More hardship was caused by El Niño, a natural weather phenomenon that is expected to be particularly strong, affecting wind and water cycles and potentially causing severe droughts in some regions and heavy flooding in others.",
  "summary": "Gletscher verlieren weiter Masse, Flüsse führen weniger Wasser: Die WMO warnt, dass die weltweiten Wasserreserven seit Jahren zurückgehen.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}