The UN weather agency warned on Thursday that the world is entering a period in which abnormal water supplies are becoming the norm.
This, as river flows, groundwater and glaciers are all showing signs of sustained disruption.
The World Meteorological Organization, WMO, made the statement in its latest State of Global Water Resources report.
WMO head Celeste Saulo says this the data does not reflect a single bad year, but a persistent decade-long signal.
The assessment shows that 2025 was one of the driest years for river flows worldwide in 35 years, with below-normal discharge across 36 per cent of the world’s river basin area.
It was also the seventh consecutive year in which rivers with historically “normal” flows were in a clear minority.
The WMO says it underscores what it describes as an increasingly erratic and unpredictable water cycle.
