The World Meteorological Organization provides results on the water cycle in its annual report. The picture is worrying because of climate change
Insufficient water level and an irregular hydrological cycle. The State of Global Water Resources report for 2024 – produced by the World Meteorological Organization – continues to paint a worrying picture, including water resources that are lacking, ice losses, and prolonged drought. In short, those of climate change are not just unfounded theories, but something that proceeds inexorably.
Overall, the report highlights that on a global scale, 2024 was a dry and hot year with marked differences between areas: there are those who had long periods of severe drought, those who suffered multiple floods. A problem that has also occurred in Italy given the many floods that there have been in 2024, alternating between many consecutive days of code red for extreme heat (with consequent drought). In general, last year, all the ‘glacial’ regions of the world experienced a loss of ice and this accelerates the need to invest in monitoring global water resources to avoid reaching a point of no return. On the other hand, the aim of the report is precisely to offer an easy-to-understand global overview and allows comparisons to be made between the various years: the more data there is, the easier it is to make the situation well understood and, the report emphasizes, “encourage the participation of countries to better understand and describe the dynamics of the water cycle”.
Water cycle, what’s going on
The fact that the hydrological cycle is undergoing significant changes is to be found in two aspects that create increasing global variability: on the one hand, climate change, on the other, human interventions. In order to better adapt to these phenomena, the World Meteorological Organization explains, continuous monitoring and constant evaluation of our water resources is needed. And, as stated before, all this means making more investments. There are three major geographical areas in which we need to invest the most: Africa, Asia and Latin America. Suffice it to say that, despite the improvements of recent years, both Africa and Asia remain underrepresented in the collection of hydrological data: the two continents cover only 3% of the world’s stations.
Water cycle, what’s going on
The fact that the hydrological cycle is undergoing significant changes is to be found in two aspects that create increasing global variability: on the one hand, climate change, on the other, human interventions. In order to better adapt to these phenomena, the World Meteorological Organization explains, continuous monitoring and constant evaluation of our water resources is needed. And, as stated before, all this means making more investments. There are three major geographical areas in which we need to invest the most: Africa, Asia and Latin America. Suffice it to say that, despite the improvements of recent years, both Africa and Asia remain underrepresented in the collection of hydrological data: the two continents cover only 3% of the world’s stations.
Snow and glaciers
In 2024, Eastern and Central Europe recorded a SWE – i.e. a snow water equivalent, a unit that measures the extent of the snowpack – lower (or much lower) than the averages, as did North America. In Central Asia, however, the opposite situation occurred: rapid warming led to floods, such as those in Kazakhstan, at the end of March. 2024 was the third consecutive year that saw glaciers retreating in all 19 glacial regions. Record mass losses occurred in Scandinavia and North Asia. In short, the situation is anything but rosy: no, those of climate change are not just stories.
