Water scarcity poses grave threat to lives as global reserves deplete. Terrestrial water storage has been declining since 2014, while groundwater levels in many regions have decreased over several years.

The UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) warned on Thursday that according to its latest report assessing the state of global water resources, the world would increasingly experience abnormal water supplies due to decade-long signals of disruption in freshwater resources, including river flows, groundwater, and glaciers.

The WMO’s report indicated that 2025 was one of the driest years for river flows worldwide in 35 years, with below-normal discharge observed across 36 percent of the world’s river basin area. In August 2026, Romania experienced a record-low water levels in the Danube, forcing it to shutdown a nuclear power plant and causing disruptions in electricity supplies.

Additionally, the WMO’s Secretary-General Celeste Saulo stated that terrestrial water storage has been declining since 2014, while groundwater levels in many regions have decreased over several years. Moreover, nearly two-thirds of monitored groundwater wells fell outside their normal range in 2025, and conditions are shifting toward deficit rather than recovery.