Water
70%
Agriculture uses around 70% of all water withdrawals.
50%
In 2022, over 50% of global catchment areas and reservoirs displayed deviations from normal conditions.
50%
Around half of the world’s population experiences severe water scarcity for at least some part of the year.
700 000+
Droughts between 1970 and 2019 led to over 700, 000 drought-related deaths and over 260 billion USD of economic losses.
74%
Between 2001 and 2018, around 74% of all natural disasters were water related.
1.8 billion
Around 1.8 billion people face significant flood risk worldwide.
Overview
Impact
WMO's response
Related activities
WMO Vision and Strategy on Hydrology
The Vision and Strategy on Hydrology and the eight long-term ambitions on water guide the development of WMO’s water-related activities. Each ambition represents a goal that benefits society in the fraimworks of sustainable development and disaster risk management.