In 2025, the global water cycle was shaped by intensifying extremes, rapid shifts between wet and dry conditions, and growing risks in regions not historically exposed to major water hazards.
Some key findings include:
Extreme rainfall intensified globally, with maximum daily precipitation increasing by 2.3% per decade, increasing exposure to floods and landslides.
The past three years were the hottest on record worldwide, confirming a persistent warming trend.
Hot days exceeding 35 °C have been increasing by 1.2% per decade, elevating risks to human health, ecosystems, and agricultural systems.
“Climate whiplash” amplified disaster impacts, with rapid transitions between wet and dry conditions affecting the same regions in quick succession. In Spain and Portugal, a wet spring was followed by flash drought and severe wildfires within months.
Flash droughts are emerging as an increasingly distinct hazard, driven by rapid declines in soil moisture and water storage over days to weeks rather than gradual seasonal drying.
Water-related hazards appeared in regions where they were once rare, including an equatorial cyclone affecting Indonesia and unprecedented glacial lake outburst floods in the Hindu Kush Himalaya.
Risks developing for 2026 include drought building across the Mediterranean, Horn of Africa, Brazil and Central Asia, while above-average flood risk is emerging across the Sahel, southern Africa, northern Australia and much of Asia.
Together, these findings point to a global water system under growing stress, where faster hydrological change and rising temperatures are reshaping risks to people, ecosystems and infrastructure.
Find full details in the report ( PDF, 64p.).
