A new report from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) reveals that northern India experienced above-normal rainfall in 2024, leading to large-scale deluges in major river basins such as the Ganges, Godavari, and Indus, highlighting the cascading effects of climate change.
The State of Global Water Resources report noted that northern India, along with other regions—including Kazakhstan, southern Russia, Pakistan, southern Iran, and northeastern China—was wetter than normal. It further emphasized that major river basins like the Ganges, Godavari, and Indus experienced above-average discharge conditions.
“It highlights the cascading impacts of too much or too little water on economies and society,” the report stated.
In 2024, around 60% of rivers worldwide recorded either excessive or deficient water flows, making it the sixth consecutive year where only about one-third of rivers were within the normal range.
“This means that two-thirds of rivers had either too much or too little water, reflecting the increasingly erratic hydrological cycle,” said Dr. Davide Faranda, Directeur de recherche at CNRS, IPSL, France.
The year 2024 was the hottest year on record, marked by severe droughts in several regions and devastating floods in others. The report stated that lake surface temperatures were anomalously high, with nearly all of the 75 main lakes worldwide recording above-average water levels.
Meanwhile, all glaciated regions across the globe reported ice loss in 2024.
Over the past six years, only about one-third of global river catchment areas maintained normal discharge levels, compared to the 1991–2020 average, the report said.
It also documented some of the deadliest extreme weather events, such as the extreme rainfall in Kerala on July 30, 2024, which triggered landslides, killing 385 people.
The report also highlighted dramatic and record-breaking flooding and landslides in Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, and Pakistan. Notably, Dubai experienced its heaviest rainfall in 75 years—a staggering 255 mm, equivalent to over a year’s worth of rain. In Southeast Asia, Typhoon Yagi was listed among the most devastating extreme events of 2024.
The WMO also pointed out regional contrasts in reservoir inflows, groundwater levels, soil moisture, and evapotranspiration. While wetter regions—such as parts of Europe and India—saw positive recharge trends, persistent deficits were reported in parts of Africa, the Americas, and Australia.
The report also confirmed that ice loss in glaciers was at record levels. It marked 2024 as the third consecutive year with widespread glacier ice loss, totaling 450 gigatonnes (Gt)—equivalent to a massive block of ice measuring 7 km x 7 km x 7 km, or enough to fill 180 million Olympic-sized swimming pools.