By Sunita D
A World Meteorological Organization’s report published on Thursday revealed that the global water cycle has become “increasingly erratic and extreme” with wild swings between droughts and floods, spelling big trouble for both societies and economies.
The intricate process through which water circulates on Earth is known as water cycle. It evaporates from the ground, including lakes and rivers, and rises into the atmosphere, generating huge streams of water vapor that can travel great distances before coming back to earth as rain or snow.
WMO’s State of Global Water Resources study, states that nearly two-thirds of the world’s river basins struggled with either too much or too little water last year, failing to experience “normal conditions”. Director of WMO, Celeste Saulo noted in a statement released with the annual State of Global Water Resources report that “the world’s water resources are under growing pressure and, at the same time, more extreme water-related hazards are having an increasing impact on lives and livelihoods.”
The hottest year on record, 2024, caused a shortage of water in several areas. Crops in sections of the United States like Texas, Oklahoma and Kansas dried up, Amazon rivers dropped to record lows, and portions of southern Africa experienced a drought that forced hardline governments to shoot hundreds of animals, including elephants.
The entire economic impact of an increasingly unpredictable water cycle is hard to quantify, but Stefan Uhlenbrook, a lead author of the report and the director of hydrology, water and cryosphere at the WMO, stated that a single flood event last year resulted in billions of dollars in classes. He also noted that shifting access to and availability of water resources might “fuel tensions and conflicts”.In a statement, WMO secretary-general Celeste Saulo stated, “Water anchors our ecosystems, powers our economies, and sustains our societies.” “Yet at the same time, more severe water related hazards are having an increasing impact on lives and livelihoods, he concluded.