In a recent interview, an expert from the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) shed light on alarming trends facing our planet’s water resources. According to the Brazilian Geological Survey, the Madeira River in the Amazon Basin has hit an all-time low water level. The timing of this crisis coincides with the WMO’s Global Water Resources Status Report, which indicates that 2023 has seen the lowest river flows recorded globally in over three decades.

The WMO expert emphasized that drought is widespread and affecting regions across the southern United States, Central America, and several South American nations, including Argentina, Brazil, Peru, and Uruguay. This drought is unprecedented in the past 33 years and has left about 3.6 billion people grappling with water scarcity.

The report points to record-high temperatures in 2023 as a key factor behind the sharp decline in river water levels. Severe droughts across North America, Central America, and South America have resulted in historically low water levels in major rivers, including the Mississippi and the Amazon.

For five consecutive years, global river flows have remained below normal, severely limiting water availability for residential, agricultural, and ecological demands. Alarmingly, 2023 marks the second consecutive year of significant ice loss in all glaciated regions worldwide, with glacier melt reaching unprecedented levels. Preliminary data reveals that from September 2022 to August 2023, more than 600 billion tons of glacier water were lost—making it the most severe melting event on record and posing a long-term threat to water security for millions.

The WMO estimates that approximately 3.6 billion people currently experience water scarcity at least part of the year, a number that could escalate to 5 billion by 2050.

Further underscoring the seriousness of the situation, a study published in May 2023 in the British journal Nature revealed that the summer of 2023 was not only the hottest on record for the Northern Hemisphere but also the warmest in about 2,000 years.

With global temperatures on the rise, long-term droughts are becoming increasingly problematic, while extreme weather events are occurring more frequently, including catastrophic floods. For instance, a severe flood event in Libya in September 2023 led to the collapse of two dams, resulting in over 11,000 fatalities and impacting 22% of the country’s population. Additionally, drought conditions in the southern United States and various South American nations have triggered significant economic losses, with Argentina’s GDP declining by 3% directly due to these conditions.

As climate change continues to intensify these extreme weather patterns, it is vital to consider the long-term consequences for communities around the globe.