The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently released its first State of Global Water Resources Report to assess the impact of environmental, climatic and social changes on the world’s water resources.  Its objective is to support the monitoring and effective management of freshwater resources across the world at a time when the demand is high and supply is very limited.

• Between 2001 and 2018, UN-Water reported that a staggering 74% of all natural disasters were water-related.
• 3.6 billion people have inadequate access to water at least one month per year and this is expected to increase to more than five billion by 2050.
• Large areas of the globe recorded drier-than-normal conditions in 2021, which was a year in which precipitation patterns were influenced by climate change and a La Niña event.
• The area with below-average streamflow was approximately two times larger than the above-average area, in comparison to the 30-year hydrological average.