Overview
- The UN weather agency reports only about one third of river basins had normal flows in 2024, marking a sixth straight year of clear hydrological imbalance.
- The warmest year on record began under El Niño, driving severe drought in the Amazon and southern Africa while other regions saw unusually high rainfall.
- Global glaciers shed about 450 gigatonnes of ice in 2024, lifting sea level by roughly 1.2 millimetres and raising coastal flood risk.
- Intensified floods and storms led to thousands of deaths and millions displaced, including Europe’s most extensive flooding since 2013 and deadly floods in Valencia estimated at €17.5 billion in losses.
- Groundwater stress deepened as only 38% of monitored wells were at normal levels, with UN‑Water estimating 3.6 billion lacking adequate water at least a month per year and projecting more than 5 billion by 2050, prompting calls to improve monitoring and manage aquifers.