World Meteorological Organization (WMO) recently launched its State of Global Water Resources 2022 report, following the success of the first pilot report launched last year in response to calls made at various global forums for an independent and consistent assessment of global water resources to guide policy discussions. The 2022 edition of the series offers a comprehensive assessment of water resources worldwide and underscores the severe impacts of droughts, extreme rainfall events and the melting of snow, ice and glaciers on long-term water security. 

DHI has contributed to the report with data from the DHI Global Hydrological Model, which supports more precise decision-making and modelling with easy access to a global dataset of hydrological variables. These data contributed to the global mapping of water resources in the report.  

WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas highlights the report’s findings, revealing accelerated disruptions to the water cycle. He emphasises the urgent need for a fundamental policy shift, advocating for improved monitoring, data-sharing, cross-border collaboration and increased investments to manage the escalating challenges of water extremes.   

‘The overwhelming majority of disasters are water-related and so water management and monitoring lies at the heart of the global Early Warnings For All initiative. Many of the countries targeted for priority action in Early Warnings for All suffered from major floods or droughts in 2022. Not a single country had timely and accurate hydrological data available to support evidence-based decision making and early action,’ says WMO Secretary-General Prof. Petteri Taalas.  

‘This report is a call to action for more data sharing to enable meaningful early warnings and for more coordinated and integrated water management policies that are an integral part of climate action,’ he says. 

With over 50% of global catchment areas experiencing deviations from normal river discharge conditions in 2022 and more than 60% of major water reservoirs facing below-normal inflow, the findings in the report highlight the urgent need for coordinated and integrated water management policies on a global scale.   

Download and read the report here: State of Global Water Resources 2022