World’s rivers hit 33-year low as freshwater supplies drop 42%

Rivers worldwide had one of their driest years in more than three decades in 2025, according to a new study of global water resources. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) assessed the global water cycle and found a sharp drop in the world’s freshwater reserves. These reserves — the water held on or under the ground, including groundwater, lakes, rivers, snow, ice, soil moisture, and water inside plants and trees — fell 42% below normal levels last year. The WMO calls this the world’s “water savings bank.” Its depletion signals growing pressure on the freshwater that people, farms, and industries rely on.