STATE OF

GLOBAL WATER
RESOURCES 2021
WEATHER CLIMATE WATER

WMO-No. 1308
Cover photo: Muhammad Amdad Hossain (Bangladesh)

WMO-No. 1308

© World Meteorological Organization, 2022

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Contents
Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3

Acknowledgemnts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

Executive summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Streamflow . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

Discharge 2021: Global and regional perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9

The global perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Examples of basin-scale assessments based on observations . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

Terrestrial water storage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Global perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Continental and regional perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

High-impact events 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Global perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Local perspectives . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21

Cryosphere water resources . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

General concepts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24

Regional examples 2021 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25

Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28

Annexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30

List of acronyms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31

Endnotes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Foreword

This first WMO annual State of Global Water Resources

report has been launched in response to calls made,
for example during COP 27 in Egypt, for accurate water
data and information to guide discussions. It is also an important milestone along the road
to the United Nations 2023 Water Conference. This WMO flagship report gives a concise
presentation of the status of water resources in each basin in comparison to the 30-year
hydrological average of that basin.

Managers, decision makers and policymakers at all levels of government make regular use
of accurate and reliable georeferenced data to guide and support their work. However, a
concise overview of water availability in the various compartments of the hydrological cycle
is missing from their arsenal of decision-making support tools. While several universal
water-related information reports exist, the annual WMO State of Global Water Resources
report is unique in that it summarizes the extent of water resources available globally.

The annual WMO State of Global Water Resources report provides important insights
for water resource management, at the basin, continental and global scale. This has
significant relevance, particularly for large-scale decision-making and policymaking, but
also for informing and guiding intergovernmental discussions related to water resources.
Moreover, producing annual summaries using consistent methods and formats will enable
interannual comparisons that facilitate the differentiation of shorter-term variable effects
on water from longer-term trends driving water distribution patterns.

As a first, ‘pilot’ edition, the present WMO State of Global Water Resources 2021 report is
limited to the conditions of streamflow, terrestrial water storage and selected cryosphere
parameters. Global Hydrological Modelling Systems and remotely sensed data were largely
used in preparing the 2021 report, and the indicators obtained from these were compared and
validated against observational data (where available). Despite a good correlation between
modelled and observed results, the validation process would benefit substantially from
utilizing further hydrological information. Therefore, I would like to take the opportunity
to invite Members to share hydrological information in accordance with the WMO Unified
Data Policy to help augment the validation process. Furthermore, WMO is committed to
extending the variables in future editions of the report to include groundwater, soil moisture
and water quality. Once the WMO Hydrological Status and Outlook System (HydroSOS) is
operational, the annual State of Global Water Resources report can be produced as a direct
output of this system.

I warmly congratulate the experts, lead authors and all contributors who compiled this report
using observed and modelled streamflow data, remotely sensed terrestrial water storage
data, other observations collected from various sources, and information on cryosphere
and major hydrological disasters. Likewise, I thank all the contributors, particularly WMO
Member National Hydrological and Meteorological Services, WMO Global Data Centres,
members of the global hydrological modelling community (established under the Water
and Climate Coalition) and supporting organizations, National Aeronautics and Space
Administration (NASA) and the German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ). The 2021
report demonstrates the practical utility of an annual global water resources summary.
Our mission is to inform world leaders, policymakers and citizens about the state of water
resources in 2021 compared with previous years, and the impacts of weather and climate
events. Therefore, this report is also an integral step towards the United Nations Secretary-
General’s call for an early warning system for all in the next five years. WMO remains
committed to supporting this publication and communicating it as widely as possible to
ensure it provides value to a diversity of end users globally.

Prof. Petteri Taalas

Secretary-General, WMO
 Acknowledgements

WMO is grateful to the following contributors:

WMO Members who assigned State of Global Water Resources report focal points (at the
time of writing)

Armenia; Belgium; Belize; Bhutan; Brazil; Bulgaria; China; Czechia; Egypt; Ghana; Hungary;
Hong Kong, China; India; Kazakhstan; Latvia; Montenegro; Myanmar; Norway; Paraguay;
Peru; Philippines; Poland; Republic of Korea; Republic of Moldova; Singapore; Slovenia; South
Africa; Sweden; Tajikistan; Thailand; United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland;
and the United Republic of Tanzania, who contributed to and supported the preparation of
the present report by providing observational data, information about major hydrological
events that occurred in 2021 and other information, and participated in the review and
validation process.

WMO Members who assigned HydroSOS focal points (at the time of writing)

Bangladesh; Burundi; Costa Rica; El Salvador; Guatemala; Kenya; Nepal; Panama; Rwanda;
and Uganda.

Steering Committee members

Jan Danhelka (Czechia, Chair, Hydrological Coordination Panel); Johannes Cullmann

(Sustainable Development Team Leader at the Office of the UN President of the General
Assembly); Narendra Tuteja (Australia); Yuri Simonov (Russian Federation, Chair of the
Standing Committee on Hydrological Services); Harry Dixon (UK); Alan Jenkins (UK); Harry
Lins (USA); Ian Lisk (UK, President SERCOM); Michel Jean (Canada, President INFCOM); and
Marcelo Uriburu Quirno (Argentina, Vice-Chair of the Standing Committee on Hydrological
Services), who participated in the conceptualization, preparation and review of the report.

WMO Secretariat

Lead authors: Sulagna Mishra, Rodica Nitu and Stefan Uhlenbrook, who were also supported
by hydrology colleagues within the Secretariat in producing and reviewing the report.

Regional hydrological advisors

Jean Claude Ntonga (Region I), Sung Kim (Region II), Silvana Alcoz (Region III), Jose Zuniga
(Region IV), John Fenwick (Region V), and Angela Corina (Region VI), who participated in
the review of the report.

Members of the global hydrological modelling community

Jafet Andersson, Berit Arheimer (Swedish Meteorological and Hydrological Institute (SMHI)),
Gianpaolo Balsamo (European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF)),
Chris DeBeer (University of Saskatchewan), Riley Hales (Brigham Young University (BYU)),
Shaun Harrigan (ECMWF, Joint Research Centre (JRC)), Rosberg Jörgen (SMHI), Rohini
Kumar, Jim Nelson, Alan Pietroniro (University of Saskatchewan), Robert Reinecke, Luis
Samaniego (Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research), Hannes Müller Schmied (Goethe
University Frankfurt), Niko Wanders (Utrecht University), Albrecht Weerts (Deltares), Kosuke
Yamamoto (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), Kei Yoshimura (University of Tokyo) and
Xing Yuan (Nanjing University of Science and Technology), who contributed to the initial
discussions, report preparation, feedback and review.

4
External experts

Eva Boergens and Andreas Guentner (German Research Centre for Geosciences (GFZ)) and
Sujay Kumar (NASA, USA), who provided information as requested, and participated in the
review, especially of the section on terrestrial water storage (TWS) related to the GRACE
mission data and TWS calculation, which forms an important part of the present report; and
Liss Andreassen (Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate), Mariano Masiokas
(Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales (IANIGLA) - Consejo
Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas Argentina) and Nora Krebs (University
of Insbruck, formerly WMO intern), for their contribution to the section on Cryosphere
water resources.

Institutional contributors

Global Runoff Data Centre (GRDC) (Uli Looser) and International Soil Moisture Network
(ISMN) (Matthias Zink), for their support in preparing the report; the National University
of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek (Gulomjon Umirzakov) and the Agency for
Hydrometeorology of Tajikistan, for their contributions to the part of the report dealing
with glaciers.

Independent consultants

Anastasia Lobanova and Iulii Didovets, who carried out the scientific analysis to produce
the results presented in this report.

5
 Executive summary
Impacts of climate variability and change are often felt through water. The dynamics of
the water cycle and its interactions with human society result in varying spatio-temporal
patterns of water resource availability and impacts of water-related extremes affecting life,
development, and sustainability of ecosystems, societies and individuals.

Despite prevailing La Niña conditions, the year 2021 was ranked as the fifth to seventh
warmest on record, with the global annual mean temperature of 1.11 ± 0.13 °C above the
1850–1900 pre-industrial average. Precipitation patterns were characterized by high spatial
and temporal variability.

Large areas of the globe recorded dryer-than-normal conditions in 2021 (comparisons based
on the 30 years of historical modelled and observed discharge data). These areas included
the La Plata River area, where a persistent drought has affected the region since 2019, the
South and South-East Amazon, and basins in North America including the Colorado, Missouri
and Mississippi river basins. In Africa, rivers such as the Niger, Volta, Nile and Congo had
less-than-normal discharge in 2021. Similarly, rivers in parts of the Russian Federation,
West Siberia and in Central Asia had less-than-average discharge in 2021.

Above- to much above-normal discharge was exhibited in North American basins and the
northern Amazon with extreme flood events, and in the southern African river basins of
Zambezi and Orange. Southern and northern China (the Amur river basin) were characterized
by above-average discharge, similar to some basins in northern India.

Significant flood events with numerous casualties were reported, among others, in China
(Henan province), northern India, western Europe, and countries impacted by tropical
cyclones, such as Mozambique, the Philippines and Indonesia.

The present report provides the first overview of the state of global water resources for
2021. WMO aims to produce this kind of report on an annual basis in the coming years.

The results of this report were obtained mainly from the modelled streamflow data and
satellite observations of terrestrial water storage. The 2021 report therefore also highlights
the lack of timely accessibility and availability of verified hydrological data, which is
crucial for the preparation of such a global report. In this context, care must be exercised
in the interpretation of the findings. WMO urges National Hydrological and Meteorological
Services to accelerate the availability and sharing of hydrological data, including discharge
information, under the WMO Unified Data Policy. Most importantly, such data is a vital
resource for regions, nations and communities for decision-making, for building resilience
to the impacts of climate change, for sustainable development, and for integrated water
resources management at the scale of whole basins. However, based on the WMO Global
Hydrological Survey conducted by WMO in 2020, only 84% of countries (based on input
from 75 WMO Member States and Territories) collect discharge information.

Based on its findings, the present report makes the following recommendations:

• Invest in filling the capacity gap in collecting data for basic hydrological variables and
assessment of hydrological status, at the country level;
• Increase sharing of hydrological data at the international level;
• Accelerate development of end-to-end drought and flood early warning systems
for reducing the impact of hydrological extremes on people, lives and livelihoods,
ecosystems, and the economy at large in all parts of the world;
• Continue working together as a global hydrological community on developing the annual
State of Global Water Resources report to support global understanding, policymaking
and planning towards implementing the WMO Vision and Strategy for Hydrology as a
support to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

6
Introduction
Threats such as floods, droughts and others associated with water resources are the most
consequential of all the potential threats posed by climate change (and variability) for both
society and the environment. Water-related climate impacts affect all aspects of societies
including agriculture, health, energy, all economic sectors and ecosystems. Understanding
changes in the demand for freshwater, and changes in its spatial and temporal distribution,
quantity, and quality, in response to climate variability and change is essential to planning
for and adapting to future climatic conditions, and to implementing the most effective
climate mitigation strategies. The annual State of Global Water Resources report aims to
detect the effects of climate, environmental and societal changes on the hydrological state
of the Earth. This annual stocktake of global freshwater resources aims at achieving a better
understanding of the changes that are occurring.

Although hydrological data are collected in nearly all major river basins around the world,
their quality, distribution, availability and accessibility are highly variable, as well as the
variables monitored. According to the WMO Global Hydrological Survey conducted in 2020,
91% (of 75 Members) collect information on water levels in rivers, yet only 84% monitor
discharge.1 Furthermore, only 60% and 20% of responding Members indicated that they
measure groundwater and soil moisture levels, respectively. High variability in the survey
results was also observed among the various WMO regions. For example, in WMO Region I
(Africa), 57% (8 of 14) of responding Members monitor river discharge, compared to 66%
(4  of  6) of responding Members in Region  IV (North America, Central America and the
Caribbean). WMO has recently made significant advances in facilitating the accessibility
of water data, particularly streamflow, with the development of the Hydrological Status
and Outlook System (HydroSOS) and the WMO Hydrological Observing System (WHOS).

While accessing data is an essential capability, evaluating the characteristics of these data
sets on a regular basis is critical for understanding patterns and trends in water resources
and the hazards associated with extreme events. Although periodic hydrological assessments
are produced for some countries and regions of the world, there is currently no worldwide
synthesis of the status of water resources which is published annually. However, an annual
summary is a major contribution to understanding water resource patterns and trends,
and to guiding their development needs for the longer term. This first edition of the WMO
annual State of Global Water Resources report comprises a presentation of the previous
calendar year’s observed and modelled discharge utilizing maps and graphs.

The present report also includes remotely sensed information with a reasonable global
coverage, such as total terrestrial water storage (TWS). The report aims to include data
on additional variables in the future, such as groundwater and soil moisture. The report
presents crucial hydrological indicators at a global scale, such as the change in the number
of extreme events, or change in streamflow (in the current year in comparison to the
hydrological normal), which will help in identifying patterns and hydrological hotspots,
both annually and over longer time periods.

While there are other global reports on water and related issues, such as the annual United
Nations World Water Development Report (based on an annual theme defined by UN-Water),
none of the reports provide an overview summary of the state of water resources: that is,
no global product exists that depicts hydrological conditions at the basin scale. Given that
the capability now exists to provide such a product annually, its absence is an unjustified
deficiency. Therefore, the WMO annual State of Global Water Resources report will fill a
niche by providing annual summaries of hydrological variables, such as discharge, TWS
and others (in future editions) such as groundwater storage and soil moisture. The report
will feed economic, social and environmental policy development and decision-making
around the world.

National level streamflow summaries have demonstrated their value to a variety of users,
including water resource planners and decision makers, organizations with responsibilities
related to agricultural, environmental, energy, and industrial sectors of the economy,

7
 policymakers, and researchers in numerous disciplines, among others. Similarly, at the
regional scale, this type of summary provides valuable data, not only for assessing the
water resources for the past year, but in guiding decision-making related to future resource
availability and related investments. This is particularly true for transboundary river basin
assessments and management. At the global scale, a consistent and easily updatable map
provides an unbiased assessment of recent water conditions for organizations with an
international or intergovernmental mission. Such a map can also highlight places where
water issues could arise and require the assistance of international humanitarian and
development organizations.

The present State of Global Water Resources 2021 report is a first e dition, a nd a s s uch,
does not seek to provide formal statements on the status of water at basin or national
scales. As a ‘pilot’ edition of sorts, it does not yet cover information from a broad range
of variables: in subsequent editions the report will be extended and expanded. This first
report shows how maps and a graphical summary of streamflow and TWS in river basins
worldwide could look in regular reports on global water resources. These maps are based
on modelled data (and validated with observed data to the extent possible) and remotely
sensed information from the NASA GRACE mission for TWS. Modelled data was used to
achieve maximum geographical coverage. Although the present report includes a brief
overview of the cryosphere changes as they relate to water resources, future reports will
expand on this to provide a more accurate report of the contribution of the cryosphere to
water resources.

In the present report, the principal data are presented in the two sections Streamflow
and Terrestrial water storage, from both a global and regional perspective. The following
section, High-impact events, provides a global overview of the major hydrological events
that occurred in 2021, featuring contributions from national authorities. The section on
Cryosphere water resources aims to capture and highlight the effect of melting glaciers on
water resources, with regional examples contributed from two Central Asian countries. The
Conclusions summarize the main findings of the State of Global Water Resources 2021 report
and the scope of future reports. Annex 1 documents details of the methods (including a
concise overview of the data sources) and Global Hydrological Modelling Systems (GHMSs)
used in the analysis, as well as definitions of the indicators used in the report and any
additional results. Annex 2 provides examples of extreme event assessments from National
Hydrological and Meteorological Services.

8
Streamflow

Discharge 2021: Global and regional perspectives

This first edition of the annual State of Global Water Resources report focuses on 515 main
hydrological basins (referred to as ‘basins’ in the present report) that cover the entire globe,
according to the WMO classification of basins (presented in Figure 1 of Annex 1). 2 For this
first edition in 2021, the availability of observed discharge data was limited to only 7% (of
515 basins) (see Figure 2 and Figure 3 of Annex 1 showing WMO basins where observed
data for 2021 and historical discharge data were accessible for at least one gauge at each
basin outlet). Another source of discharge information was required, in order to ensure
global coverage of the analysis. Therefore, this first report is largely based on the outputs of
Global Hydrological Modelling Systems (GHMS), obtained under the cooperative framework
of the Operational Global and Regional Hydrological Modelling Community.3 The simulated
discharges from those GHMS were analysed at the basin level.

Global Hydrological Modelling Systems used

In total, seven different GHMSs were used in the modelling exercise. These included
CaMa-Flood and Dam, CSSP, ECLand, mHM, GeoGlows, GloFAS and TEJRA 55. Annex 1
provides details on each of the GHMSs applied, together with information on how
they were set up with historical data and how predictions for 2021 were obtained. The
information in Annex 1 also outlines potential sources of uncertainty associated with
the modelling framework applied.

Sharing of hydrological data is steadily increasing, especially in the case of operational

data at the international basin scale. Similarly, processes for sharing quality-controlled data
for long-term water resources assessment have been established for many international
rivers. However, sharing quality-controlled data at the global level in a timely manner for
the purposes of developing continental or global reports remains a challenge (see the WMO
Global Hydrological Survey 2020 for the share of WMO Members that collect observed data).4

The present section presents the results of the analysis of discharge data from the Global
Hydrological Models that was verified with observed data where possible.

The global perspective

The modelled discharge was obtained from an ensemble of Global Hydrological Modelling
Systems (GHMS) (see Annex 2 for further details on the models) for each of the selected
basins for the year 2021. The obtained average discharge for 2021 was compared with the
historical values over the years 1991–2020 and then ranked as either normal, above normal,
much above normal, below normal or much below normal with reference to historical values
(see Annex 1 for more details on the methodology). Figure 1 presents the average 2021
discharge ranking with respect to the selected historical period. Wherever observations
were available, the modelled results were validated.

As can be seen in Figure 1, discharge in the year 2021 was in the range of much below
to below normal in many parts of the globe. According to the analysis performed based
on the modelled data, the area with below- and much below-discharge conditions was
approximately two times larger than that with above- and much above-discharge conditions.
Approximately one third of the areas analysed exhibited normal discharge conditions.

Discharge was assessed as below and much below normal in the southern part of the South
American continent, especially in the La Plata river basin, the southern part of the Amazon
river basin and the Saõ Francisco river basin. In fact, La Plata River has been suffering from

9
Figure 1. World river
discharge conditions
in 2021, ranked with
reference to the
historical period
of 1991–2020. The
results presented
here were derived
from the modelled
discharge data, which
were obtained from
an ensemble of Global
Hydrological Modelling
System simulations (see
Methods in
Annex 1). Grey areas
indicate missing
discharge data.
Note that the results
were validated
against hydrological a persistent drought since the year 2019.5 In contrast, river basins of coastal areas of Peru
observations wherever experienced above-normal annual discharge. The Amazon basin area suffered from both
available (see Examples
flood and drought in 2021: extreme flood events were reported for the northern Amazon
of basin-scale
assessments based on
and drought conditions occurred in the southern and south-eastern Amazon. These events
observations for the were associated with the La Niña conditions and intensification of Walker circulations, in the
detailed validations). case of floods, and with the Hadley continental circulation, in the case of droughts.6 During
Inset (bottom left) shows the flood, the water level at the Manaus station in Brazil was above 29 m (the emergency
the distribution of the threshold), breaking the record of the previous flood of 2012.7
area under the given
conditions. In North America, specifically in the Canadian province of British Columbia and in the
Mackenzie, Yukon and Churchill river basins in the northern part of the continent, discharge
was assessed as above and much above normal in 2021. Drought in the western, mid-western
and north-eastern United States of America, which started in 2020, persisted also in 2021
and worsened in the western part of the USA in June 2021, when almost the entire region
was affected by drought.8 For the Colorado, Missouri and Mississippi Rivers, the discharge
in 2021 was below and much below normal.

Ranking and classification of discharge

Annual mean discharge (Q in m3 per second) over the last 30 years of modelled data of
each of the GHMS or observations (where available) was calculated for each basin. The
resulting array was ranked. Annual mean discharge for the year 2021 for each model
or observed data was then compared to this ranked array and classified according to
the following definition (note that, in the case of the modelled data, an additional step
was taken, to aggregate modelled results across all models. Refer to Annex 1 for more
details on ranking and aggregation of modelled results).

much below normal: Q 2021 < 0.05 percentile

below normal: 0.05 < Q 2021 < 0.25 percentile

normal: 0.25 < Q 2021 < 0.75 percentile

above normal: 0.75 < Q 2021 < 0.95 percentile

much above normal: Q 2021 > 0.95 percentile

10
In Europe, rivers on the Spanish Mediterranean coast, Ligurian coast, in the south of
the United Kingdom, and in central and western Europe exhibited above-normal mean
discharge in 2021. In fact, in July 2021 a catastrophic flood took place in Germany, Belgium
and the Netherlands, causing a high number of casualties across Europe.9 In October 2021,
above-normal rainfall caused floods and landslides in the Liguria and Piedmont regions.
Liguria’s environment agency reported a record 181 mm of rainfall in just one hour and
over 900 mm in 24 hours.10 These areas also exhibit above-normal discharge in 2021 when
compared to the average annual values.

Eastern and northern China (Amur river basin) were characterized by above-average
discharge values. In central-eastern China, record rainfall affected more than 350  000
people, who were evacuated in July 2021 in the Henan Province. In India, headwaters of
the Ganges River were characterized by above- to much above-normal discharge. Rivers
in the European part of the Russian Federation, in West Siberia as well as in Central Asia
had less-than average discharge in 2021, while far eastern Siberian river basins, including
the Amur river basin, experienced run-off above the average.

The south-eastern and western Australian coasts exhibited above-normal annual discharge.
In Africa, there were severe drought conditions in the Horn of Africa, affecting Ethiopia,
Kenya and Somalia.11

Examples of basin-scale assessments based on observations

The present section provides insights into basin-scale discharge during the year 2021,
based on observed discharge data. It focuses on a few selected areas, where such data
were available, to demonstrate the possibilities of detailed hydrological assessments. The
discharge in the year 2021 was ranked against the average discharge in the selected historical
period in a similar manner as for the global analysis (see The global perspective). The results
from the Global Hydrological Modelling Systems (GHMSs) and from observations were
compared, and the areas showing an agreement in the results are indicated in Figures 2
to 12 except Figures 3, 6 and 11, with hatching.
Figure 2. Discharge
(a) ranking for 2021
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for Daugava
River: (a) Mean annual
normal; (b) December–
January–February (DJF);
(c) June–July–August
(JJA). Hatching
indicates agreement
between the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
(b) (c) and GHMS simulations.
Here and in the captions
of Figures 4, 5, 7, 9,
10 and 12, “discharge
characteristic” refers to
annual mean discharge
for 2021 being ““normal”,
“above normal” or
“below normal”,
with reference to the
historical period. Refer
to Annex 1 for more
details on the validation
process.

11
Figure 3. Comparison
of 2021 streamflow
observation data
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for the
Daugava River, Latvia:
exceedance probability
(left), mean monthly
discharge (right)

Latvia

The discharge data for the Daugava River were provided by the Latvian Environment, Geology
and Meteorology Centre (LEGMC). The mean annual river discharge in the Daugava River
(Jekabpils station) is characterized as below normal for 2021 in comparison to 1991–2020.
Nevertheless, discharge in the boreal winter and summer months plot within the normal.
The results obtained during the summer months from GHMSs were in line with those
obtained from observed data (Figure 2). Figure 3 presents exceedance probability curves
based on observations for historical years and the year 2021, and mean monthly discharge
in 2021 against years of the selected historical period.

Guatemala

The discharge data for the Cabuz and Guacalate Rivers were provided by the Guatemalan
Instituto Nacional de Sismología, Vulcanología, Meteorologiá e Hidrología (INSIVUMEH).
In Guatemala, discharge from the Cabuz River (Malacatan station) and Guacalate River
(Alotenango station) (Figure 4) did not vary from the average conditions when compared
to the mean yearly discharge, as well as discharge during the months of June-July-August.
However, discharge during December–January–February was much above normal, as
indicated by both observed and modelled data.

Figure 4. Discharge
ranking for 2021 with
reference to the
historical period for
Cabuz and Guacalate
Rivers (Guatemala):
December–January–
February (left);
June–July–August
(right). Hatching
indicates agreement
between the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
and GHMS simulations.

12
Myanmar

The discharge data for the Irrawaddy River were provided by the Myanmar Department of
Meteorology and Hydrology. Figure 5 presents the mean December–January–February (left)
and June–July–August (right) 2021 discharge ranking with respect to the historical period
for the Irrawaddy river basin (Toungoo and Sittaung stations in Pyay). DJF was characterized
by lower-than-normal discharge, whereas JJA by much lower-than-normal discharge. These
results agree with discharge rankings, simulated by GHMSs. Figure 6 presents exceedance
probability curves based on observations for historical years and the year 2021, and mean
monthly discharge in 2021 against years of the selected historical period.

Paraguay

The discharge data for the Paraguay River were provided by the Paraguay Dirección de
Meteorologia e Hidrología and GRDC database. Figure 7 presents the mean December–
January–February 2021 discharge ranking with reference to the historical period for the

Figure 5. Discharge
ranking for 2021
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for
Myanmar: mean annual
(left); December–
January–February
(middle); and June–July–
August (right). Hatching
indicates agreement
between the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
and GHMS simulations.

Figure 6. Comparison
of 2021 streamflow
observation data
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for the
Irrawaddy River,
Myanmar: exceedance
probability (left); mean
monthly discharge (right)

13
 Paraguay River (Asuncion station). The mean DJF discharge was ranked as normal with
reference to the historical period, whereas the JJA discharge was much below normal.
Simulations obtained from GHMS rank JJA discharge also as much below-normal conditions,
and DJF as below normal.

Figure  8 presents exceedance probability curves based on observations for historical

years and the year 2021, and mean monthly discharge in 2021 against years of the selected
historical period.

Figure 7. Discharge
ranking for 2021 (a)
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for Paraguay
River: (a) Mean annual
normal; (b) December–
January–February; (c)
June–July–August.
Hatching indicates
agreement between
the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
and GHMS simulations. (b) (c)

Figure 8. Comparison
of 2021 streamflow
observation data
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for the
Paraguay River,
Paraguay: exceedance
probability (left); mean
monthly discharge (right)

14
United States of America

The discharge data for the river basins in central and northern USA were provided by the
GRDC database. Figure 9 presents the mean December–January–February 2021 discharge
ranking with respect to the historical period and June–July–August 2021 discharge ranking
with respect to the historical period as derived from the available stations in the GRDC
database. Only seasonal graphs were produced from the data from these stations, as the
records did not cover the entire year of 2021.

The central part of the Northern American continent was characterized by below- to much
below-normal discharge in both the JJA and DJF periods. The Yukon river basin had much
above-average discharge in the boreal winter season (DJF) and normal discharge in the
boreal summer (JJA) season.
Figure 9. Discharge
ranking for 2021 with
reference to the
historical period for
the USA: December–
January–February (left);
June–July–August
(right). Hatching
indicates agreement
between the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
and GHMS simulations.

Norway

The discharge data for the Glomma River, Gammelbollo River and other coastal river basins
in Norway were provided by the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE).
In 2021, the annual river discharge in Norway was characterized as normal and below
normal, depending on the region (Figure 10). However, discharge over the boreal winter
months of December, January and February was much above normal and below or much
below for the boreal summer months of June, July and August of 2021.
Figure 10. Discharge
ranking for 2021
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for Norway:
mean annual (left);
December–January–
February (middle); and
June–July–August
(right). Hatching
indicates agreement
between the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
and GHMS simulations.

15
 Figure  11 presents exceedance probability curves based on observations for historical
years and the year 2021, and mean monthly discharge in 2021 against years of the selected
historical period for the Glomma River.
Figure 11. Comparison
of 2021 streamflow
observation data
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for the
Glomma River, Norway:
exceedance probability
(left); mean monthly
discharge (right)

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

The discharge data for the river basins in the United Kingdom were provided by the UK
Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (UKCEH). The river discharge across the territory of the
United Kingdom in December–January–February was above normal in the majority of
basins (Figure  12). During the boreal summer months, the river discharge in 2021 was
mainly normal and above normal in the southern part of the United Kingdom.

Figure 12. Discharge
ranking for 2021
with reference to
the historical period
(1991–2020) for the
United Kingdom:
December–January–
February (left); and
June–July–August
(right). Hatching
indicates agreement
between the discharge
characteristics obtained
from observed flow data
and GHMS simulations.

16
Terrestrial water storage

Global perspective
Satellite gravimetry is a remote sensing-based method (using data obtained from GRACE
satellites)12 which allows observation of the whole water column, including surface water,
soil moisture, groundwater, and snow and ice. Terrestrial water storage (TWS) is expressed
in equivalent water heights in centimetres, which is a mean height of the water column
over the whole considered area. The section Terrestrial water storage in Annex 1 provides
more details on TWS and how TWS anomalies were calculated.

Figure 13 provides linear trend values of TWS anomaly between 2002 and 2021 at a global
1° grid and averaged at the level of the selected WMO basins. Figure 14 provides TWS in the
year 2021 compared to 2002–2020 (see Methods in Annex 1 for more detailed information
on how the anomaly was calculated).

The map of TWS anomaly in Figure 13 identifies several hotspots with a strong negative
TWS deviation, namely in the São Francisco river basin, in Patagonia, in the Ganges and
Indus headwaters, and in south-western USA. In contrast, the Great Lakes region exhibits
a positive anomaly. The Niger basin, East African Rift and North Amazon basin also show
positive anomalies. Overall, the negative trends are stronger than the positive ones. It
should be noted that at least some of the strong anomalies (Alaska, Patagonia, Himalayas,
and Baffin Island) are also the result of long-term trends caused by the melting of snow
and ice. Some of the hotspots of negative trends are mainly induced by over-abstraction
of groundwater for irrigation.13

For the year 2021, the TWS was much below and below normal on the west coast of the
USA, in Patagonia, North Africa and Madagascar, Central Asia and the Middle East, the
central part of South America, Pakistan and northern India. TWS was above and much
above normal in the central part of Africa, the northern part of South America, specifically
the Amazon basin, and the northern part of China. The year 2021 was consistent with the
general trends in TWS, as presented in Figure 14.

Continental and regional perspectives

The time series of TWS anomaly for continents (see Figure 15) indicate that the continental
trend takes a positive value only for the African continent. However, most of this trend results
from an increase in TWS in spatially limited hotspots (for example, in the Lake Victoria
region) while the trend in other parts of the continent might show a different direction. In
contrast, Asia, Europe and North America show a pronounced decline of TWS.
Figure 13. Terrestrial
water storage anomaly
trends in cm per year
over the period 2002
to 2021 on a 1 degree
grid. Note: The areas in
orange indicate large
displacement in fresh
water to the oceans
during the time period.
Note also that Greenland
and Antarctica are not
included in the maps,
as their mass balance
trends are large, and
therefore overshadow
the other continental
mass balance trends
depicted here.

17
Figure 14. Terrestrial
water storage in 2021
ranked in comparison
to the historical period
(2002–2020). Note: The
areas in orange indicate
large displacement in
fresh water to the oceans
during the time period.
Note also that Greenland
and Antarctica are not
included in the maps,
as their mass balance
trends are large, and
therefore overshadow
the other continental
mass balance trends
depicted here.

Figure 15. Terrestrial
water storage anomaly
in cm for the year
2002–2021 for each
continent

Figure 16 shows monthly values of terrestrial water storage for the Danube, Vistula, Don
and Rhine river basins for the years 2002–2022, year by year. The distance of each point
from the centre of the plot represents the centimetres of stored water (surface, groundwater
and soil moisture), while the colour is related to the year (dark blue for earlier years, green/
yellow for more recent ones).

Similarly, Figure 17 shows spider plots for the Niger, Volta, Congo, Nile and Zambezi river
basins exhibiting a gradual increase in TWS since 2002. The greatest positive change in
TWS is observed in the Congo and Nile river basins.

Figure 18 presents TWS for river basins in North and South America. The São Francisco,
Colorado and Yukon river basins exhibit a gradual decrease in TWS, with 2021 being the
year with the lowest TWS between 2002–2021. The Amazon and Mississippi river basins,
in contrast, do not show a particular trend. For the Saint Lawrence river basin, a positive
trend in TWS is observed.

18
Figure 16. Terrestrial
water storage in cm
per month for the years
2002–2021 for central
and eastern European
rivers basins the Danube,
Vistula, Don and Rhine

Figure 17. Terrestrial
water storage in cm
per month for the years
2002–2021 for African
river basins the Niger,
Volta, Nile, Zambezi and
Congo

19
 As depicted in Figure 19, major Indian river basins (the Brahmaputra, Ganges and Indus), as
well as other important river basins in Asia (Huang He, also known as Yellow, and Mekong),
exhibit a gradual decline in TWS over the period 2002–2021. On the other hand, the Amur
river basin shows an increase in TWS.

Figure 18. Terrestrial
water storage in cm
per month for the years
2002–2021 for North
and South American
river basins the Amazon,
São Francisco, Saint
Lawrence, Yukon,
Colorado and Mississippi

Figure 19. Terrestrial
water storage in cm
per month for the years
2002–2021 for Asian
river basins the Mekong,
Huang He (Yellow),
Indus, Amur, Ganges and
Brahmaputra

20
High-impact events 2021

Global perspective
The year 2021 was ranked between the fifth and seventh warmest year on record, with
the global annual mean temperature of 1.11 ± 0.13 °C above the 1850–1900 pre-industrial
average, despite prevailing La Niña conditions. Globally, high spatial and temporal variability
in precipitation were observed (State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290)). In 2021
there were 432 registered large and medium-scale natural hazard extreme events across
the globe.14 These events caused almost 10 000 deaths, caused more than US$ 250 billion
in damage and directly affected more than 100 million people worldwide.15

Figure 20 presents a number of notable extreme events in 2021, focusing on floods and
droughts, selected from the EM-DAT database16 and other open sources.

Local perspectives
The present section highlights the high-impact events of 2021. Information on selected
events was obtained from resources such as EM-DAT,17 ReliefWeb and other open data
sources, scientific papers, the State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290) report, as
well as from the NHMSs of Paraguay, Latvia, Myanmar (provided in Annex 2) and India.

Western Europe

In July 2021, several western European countries suffered from floods caused by heavy rain.
Especially severe conditions were reported in Belgium and Germany. Extreme rainfall of up
to 160 mm in 24 hours resulted in the fast rise of smaller rivers draining the Eiffel highland,
such as the Ahr and Erft Rivers (Germany).18 Hagen (Germany) reported 241 mm of rainfall in
22 hours (State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290)). The observed rainfall broke all
records registered in this area. In Germany alone, the flood caused 183 deaths and 36 deaths
in Belgium (State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290)).The damage caused by the
flood in Germany was estimated to exceed US$ 20 billion (State of the Global Climate 2021
(WMO-No. 1290)). Furthermore, Munich Re (2022) estimates that the total damage reached
$US 54 billion, of which $US 40 billion was in Germany alone.19

China

Several serious floods were recorded in China in 2021, mostly in July 2021. The most
impactful event was in Henan province, where in Zhengzhou, the provincial capital, more
than 200 mm of rain fell in one hour and 720 mm during the event as a whole (State of the
Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290)). The event caused the death of more than 380 people
Figure 20. Selected
Türkiye floods:
caused at least
Iran, Iraq and Syria: notable hydrological
17 million people
77 casualties affected by drought
extreme events across
Hurricane Ida: directly caused
55 deaths, indirectly 32 (USA the globe in 2021. Pins
alone), USD 75 billion damage Afghanistan floods,
May and July 2021:
344 casualties
indicate flood and
Henan floods: 1 million
people displaced,
380 casualties and
drought events.
USD 17 billion damage
West Europe floods:
219 casualties, up to
Euro 46 billion
damage, Euro 33
billion in Germany Typhoon Rai (Odette) in
alone the Philippines caused
Central USA: >400 casualties and
persistent drought >12k people displaced
since 2020

India: several
floods in 2021 led
to 762 casualties Tropical Cyclone Seroja:
181 casualties in
Indonesia, >40 casualties
in Dili (Timor-Leste)
Amazon river basin: severe
flood and drought conditions Drought in Horn of
registered in 2021 Africa: food shortage
affected ~18 million
people
Tropical Cyclone Eloise caused
flooding in Mozambique,
La Plata river basin:
Madagascar and South Africa.
persistent drought
>467 000 people affected,
since 2019
12 casualties

21
 (State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290)), displacement of over a million people
and more than US$ 17 billion damage. 20

Afghanistan

A total of six provinces in five regions of Afghanistan were affected by flash flooding caused
by heavy rainfall at the beginning of May 2021. These floods caused at least 84 deaths, up
to 32 missing people and at least 2 600 residential homes partially or totally destroyed.21 At
the end of July 2021, another flash flood in eastern Afghanistan in the Kamdesh district of
the Nuristan province, took the lives of 260 people22 according to the figures of the Afghan
Red Crescent Society, released on 1 August 2021.

Horn of Africa

Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia have faced several consecutive years with below-average
rainfall causing a regional drought. Up to 18 million people were food insecure and more
than 7 million children faced acute malnutrition. 23

Mozambique, Madagascar and South Africa

In January 2021 Tropical Cyclone Eloise caused heavy rainfall in Mozambique, Madagascar
and South Africa. Subsequent flooding affected more than 467 000 people, and killed up
to 12 people. 24

Amazon

Both flood and drought conditions were reported for the Amazon river basin. The northern
Amazon experienced flood conditions in 2021, while the southern and south-eastern Amazon
experienced drought conditions. During the flooding, the water level at the Manaus station
in Brazil was above 29 m (the emergency threshold), breaking the record of the previous
flood of 2012. 25

La Plata river basin

The severe, prolonged drought experienced in La Plata river basin since 2019 continued
over the entire year of 2021. Despite some significant precipitation periods in the region,
major rivers like the Paraguay and Paraná Rivers experienced all-time record low water
stages in the second half of 2021 (see Annex 2 for further details).

India

Several extreme events, mostly due to heavy rainfalls, were reported in India over the course
of 2021. These events led to 762 casualties, with Maharasthra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh,
Kerala, Madhiya Pradesh, West Bengal and Uttarakand states being the most affected. 26

USA drought

The western USA experienced a significant, prolonged drought. The period from July 2019
to June 2021 was the driest 24-month period on record. 27

USA hurricane

Hurricane Ida produced widespread rainfall from the Gulf of Mexico along the eastern USA
coast to Canada, resulting in major floods in affected areas, including the urban areas of
the New York City metropolitan area and New Jersey. Ida was the direct cause of death of
55 people and caused $US 75 billion damage in the USA. Another 32 people in the USA
alone died as a result of the storm associated with Ida. 28

22
Philippines

Typhoon Rai, also known as Super Typhoon Odette, crossed the Philippines in December
2021, ranking among the costliest typhoons there, with significant flooding impacting
different parts of the country. Odette affected more than 2.3 million people, displaced more
than 12 000 individuals, 29 and killed at least 406 people (State of the Global Climate 2021
(WMO-No. 1290)).

Indonesia and Timor-Leste

Tropical Cyclone Seroja hit Timor-Leste and parts of Indonesia in early April 2021, causing
flooding in both countries. Seroja led to 181  casualties in Indonesia and more than
40 casualties in Dili, the capital of Timor-Leste. 30

Iran, Iraq, Syria

The water deficit from 2020 in Iran, Iraq and Syria was intensified by a dry and warm boreal
winter of 2020/2021, further limiting replenishment of water resources before the summer
months. This resulted in a drought affecting large numbers of people: 4.8 million in Iran, 31
and up to 12 million in Iraq and Syria. 32

Türkiye

On 10–12 August 2021 several provinces in Türkiye on the Black Sea coast experienced one of
the deadliest and most impactful floods on record, associated with extreme precipitation. Up
to 400 mm of rainfall was recorded within 24 hours in Bozkurt village, causing 77 casualties.33

The need for local and global perspectives

The Horn of Africa is mentioned several times in the present report. The mean flow
in this region in 2021 was evaluated as below average and drought is listed among
the high impact extreme events. On the other hand, winter run-off is ranked as above
average. How does that information match up?

The previous year, 2020, was particularly dry in the Horn of Africa, which impacted
food production in 2021. December 2020 to February 2021 flows were above average,
but this is a typically dry period in the region, with an average of less than 10 mm of
precipitation per month. However, the precipitation contributions during these months
was inadequate to affect water availability at an annual scale. The rainy season is
strongest in April and May over most of the territory, with variable precipitation from
June to November, depending on latitude and altitude. In conclusion, all information
must be interpreted taking into account the hydrological context/pattern of the specific
hydroclimatic region, and the seasonal distribution of rain and flow. Usually, these
patterns do not match the calendar year used for global evaluation.

Drought occurrence seems to be in contradiction to the continental TWS increase at the

pan-African scale detected via GRACE. This highlights the need for local assessments,
as existing large local and sub-regional variability in changes cannot be related to
continental trends.

Member NHMSs provide expertise in interpretation and analysis of data for local and
regional purposes and a variety of stakeholders.

23
 Cryosphere water resources

General concepts
The cryosphere (glaciers, snow cover, ice caps and, where present, permafrost) is an important
natural reservoir of fresh water (the biggest at a global scale), critical for hydroelectric
production and operations, for agricultural and industrial water supply, for drinking water
for billions of people, and for ”sustaining ecosystems and supporting livelihoods in and
far beyond the mountain ranges themselves”. 34 Mountains are often called natural “water
towers” because they provide vital headwaters to many rivers that originate from snow
and ice, and other fresh water sources that replenish aquifers. It is estimated that around
1.9 billion people worldwide live in areas where water is supplied by glaciers and snow melt.

Changes to cryosphere water resources have significant impacts on food security, human
health, ecosystem integrity and maintenance, and economic and social development. Such
changes also cause the emergence of new natural hazards, such as flooding and flash
flooding, glacier lake outbursts, droughts, diminished water resources, and ice and land
mass flow. On a seasonal to decadal scale, snowmelt and ice melt over land help regulate
hydrological run-off (amount, timing and biogeochemical properties) and are critical to
regulating water availability and ecosystem services downstream.

Information on current and projected changes in snow and ice, as they relate to water
resources, are required at regional and catchment scale, to inform decisions on water
management, disaster risk reduction, emergency management, food security and socioec-
onomic development. At a global level, most major rivers originating from high mountains
in mid- to low-latitudes, are snow and glacier fed, as illustrated in Figure 21.

The Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate concluded that
“River runoff in snow-dominated or glacier-fed high mountain basins is projected to change
regardless of emissions scenario (very high confidence), with increases in average winter
runoff (high confidence) and earlier spring peaks (very high confidence)”. 35

Figure 21. Contribution
of the cryosphere to Contribution of the cryosphere to water availability
water resources in the
basins of major rivers
Rhine
with headwaters in high Fraser Syrdarya
Lake Balkash
Tarim
mountains. Source: Tibetan Plateau
Amudary
Huss, M.; Bookhagen, B.;
Huggel, C. et al. Toward
Mountains without
Rhone
Permanent Snow and
Columbia Orinoco
Ice. Earth’s Future
Yellow
2017, 5 (5), 418–435.
https://agupubs. Po
Colorado Danube
onlinelibrary.wiley.
com/doi/full/10.1002/ Yangtze
Indus
2016EF000514, Magdalena
illustration by Nora Krebs Ganges
Mekong
Salween
(WMO).
Brahmaputra
Central Andes
Amazon

Altiplano-Puna

Annual water contribution from snow & glacier mass loss Administrative country borders
Annual water contribution from rainfall Mountain basins
Data in “Towards mountains without permanent snow and ice” by Huss et al., 2017 (Table 2 - period: from 1998 to 2012).
Further basins (e.g. Southern Andes, Mackenzie) have been recognized for high cryosphere contribution.

24 Lorem ipsum
The State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290) report concluded that in 2021, at a
global level, the melting of glaciers continued, with a clear trend towards an acceleration
of mass loss on multidecadal timescales (Figure 22).

Factors such as seasonal accumulation of snow, timing of spring snowmelt, long-term

evolution of glacier mass balance (accumulation versus loss) under different climate sce-
narios and their contribution to run-off and groundwater are of interest for understanding
cryosphere water resources for snow- and glacier-fed rivers and groundwater resources.
With the increased melting of glaciers, the annual glacier run-off typically increases at first,
until a turning point, often called ”peak water”, is reached, upon which run-off declines.36
The long-term projections of the changes in glacier run-off and the timing of peak water
are key inputs to long-term adaptation decisions.

Future assessments in WMO State of Global Water Resources reports will provide the incentive
to regularly assess changes in the cryosphere and the variability of water resources, at
basin and regional level (State of the Global Climate 2021 (WMO-No. 1290)).

Figure 22. Cumulative
glacier mass change
relative to 1976 for
regional and global
means based on data
from reference glaciers.
Cumulative values are
given on the y-axis in
the unit meter water
equivalent [m w.e.].
Source: World Glacier
Monitoring Service
(WGMS). Global
Glacier Change
Bulletin No. 4
(2018-2019). Zemp,
M.; Nussbaumer, S. U.;
Gärtner-Roer, I. et al.
(Eds.); WGMS: Zurich,
2021. Publication based
on database version:
doi:10.5904/wgms-
Regional examples 2021 fog-2021-05. https://
wgms.ch/ggcb/.
Recent snow cover variations in the subtropical Andes

The snow that accumulates each winter in the subtropical Andes represents a crucial water
resource for most human activities across central Chile and central-western Argentina.
This snow regulates the flows of mountain rivers during the austral spring and summer
seasons, and provides the largest volumes of water for recharging the aquifers that are
critical for the populated lowland areas on both sides of the Andes.

In Figure 23, a noticeable feature is the sharp decrease in both snowpack and streamflow
series starting in 2009–2010, and it has continued since. This persistent dry period has no
precedent in the instrumental record. Locally known as the “megadrought”, this period has
been associated with noticeable water level declines in natural and human-made reservoirs
and wells, and with increasing ice thinning rates after 2010.

Glacier changes in Norway

Glacier area in mainland Norway has decreased by 15% from early 2000 to 2018–2019.
Breifonn glacier in Rogaland, south-western Norway, is one example of a glacier that has

25
Figure 23. Regional
mean annual time
series of maximum
snow accumulation in
the Andes compared to
a regional average of
mean annual streamflow
records. Source: Global
Cryosphere Watch,
updated from Masiokas,
M. H.; Christie, D. A.;
Le Quesne, C. et al.
Reconstructing the
Annual Mass Balance
of the Echaurren Norte
Glacier (Central Andes,
33.5°S) Using Local and
Regional Hydroclimatic
Data, The Cryosphere
2016, 10 (2), 927–940,
shrunk greatly over the last decades (Figure 24). 37 It has disintegrated into several parts
https://doi.org/10.5194/ and will soon vanish. On the orthophoto from 1978, the glacier had an area of 2.55 km2.
tc-10-927-2016, 2016. In 2003 the glacier had disintegrated into three parts, with a total area of 1.65 km2, and in
2019 the glacier had disintegrated further with a total area of 0.42 km2.
Figure 24. Changes
to Breifonn glacier
in Rogaland (1978 to
2018–2019). Source:
Andreassen, L.; Nagy, T.;
Kjøllmoen, B. et al. An
Inventory of Norway’s
Glaciers and Ice-marginal
Lakes from 2018–19
Sentinel-2 Data. Journal
of Glaciology 2022,
1–22. https://dro.dur.
ac.uk/35938/.

Glaciers in Central Asia

There are around 28  000 glaciers in the Tien Shan and Pamir mountains which are an
important source of fresh water for the Central Asian region. 38 Ice melt and snowmelt are
principal water resources for the highly populated lowlands of Central Asia, for example,
for agricultural, domestic and industrial use. 39

Tajikistan

The Zeravshan glacier in Tajikistan, with its complex structure and difficult access, is an
example of the urgency of monitoring campaigns. Surveys conducted by the Agency for
Hydrometeorology of the Republic of Tajikistan for the Zeravshan glacier in 1979, 1991, 2009
and 2019 have shown significant melting and receding of the glacier of around 2.04 km3
of its volume in the last 40 years. A similar declining tendency has been observed for the
Kasholayah and Khirson glaciers in Tajikistan (see Figure 25).

Uzbekistan

A survey conducted by the National University of Uzbekistan named after Mirzo Ulugbek
(NUU) regarding the Barkrak glacier, western Tien Shan, shows that glacier mass balance
in 2020–2021 decreased by 67 cm, which is more than three times higher than the previous
year and the largest decrease in at least the last five years (Figures 26 and 27).

26
Figure 25. The upper
part of the Khirson
glacier transit area in
2021. Source: Agency
for Hydrometeorology,
Committee on
Environmental
Protection, Government
of the Republic of
Tajikistan.

Figure 26. The Barkrak

glacier in 2021, Pskem
river basin, western Tien
Shan. Source: Gulomjon
Umirzakov, National
University of Uzbekistan
named after Mirzo
Ulugbek.

Figure 27. Barkrak glacier

mass balance from
2016 to 2021. Source:
Gulomjon Umirzakov,
National University of
Uzbekistan named after
Mirzo Ulugbek.

27
 Conclusions
Despite an increase in hydrological data sharing in recent years, significant challenges
remain regarding the availability of verified hydrological data for the assessment of water
resources availability on a global scale on a regular (annual) basis.

The present report must be understood as an initial report demonstrating the possibilities
for facing this challenge through the successful application of both hydrological models and
satellite data for the global overview, and verification with observations whenever possible.
At the same time, the report demonstrates the critical role and value of observational data
for producing more detailed regional and national water assessments to provide a better
understanding of local impacts on nations and communities.

Validation of the modelling results for the year 2021 was only possible in some areas,
where the observed discharge data were available. Discharge rankings for the year 2021,
obtained from Global Hydrological Modelling Systems (GHMS) and observed data, showed
good agreement in some regions (such as Paraguay, Myanmar and Guatemala) and poor
agreement in others (such as Latvia). The heterogeneity in the results points out the
necessity to improve both the performance of the models, and access to the observed
discharge data, in order to achieve better modelling results and validations for the next
editions of the report.

It is important to mention that the selection of the historical period of discharge data,
1991–2022, might have influenced the results in this report. This is because water resources
might already have been impacted by climate and anthropogenic changes during that period.
It is unfortunately not possible to select earlier periods for comparison, as the availability
of hydrological data is often scarce.

For 2021, a greater proportion of the Earth’s surface belonged to basins that reported
below- to much below-normal annual discharge at their outlets than to basins exhibiting
above-normal discharge. However, the global overview shows significantly scattered
patterns, with neighbouring areas often reporting opposite categories. Case studies from
basin-scale assessments demonstrate additional information, which can be obtained from
observed discharge data. For example, the Paraguay River experienced an extremely dry
year, with its annual exceedance curve dropping below the range of historical data for most
of its course and breaking the all-time lowest daily discharge value (compared to values in
the last 30 years); the usually high austral winter flow was also absent.

The mapping of terrestrial water storage (TWS) based on GRACE satellite data represents
another way to assess water resources at the global and continental scales. Its assessment
for 2021 generally agreed with data from GHMSs. TWS time series from 2002 onwards also
provide insights into the location of large-area hotspots of increased or decreased water
storage; such hotspots include some polar and some high-mountain areas, where melting
glaciers likely contribute, among others, to observed trends. Groundwater over-abstraction
for irrigation is another possible contributor to hotspots with negative trends in TWS.40

The present report includes information about glacier assessments, confirming a need to
systematically interpret results of snow cover and glacier change in terms of water resources
at the basin level, to support decisions on water management.

In 2021, all regions experienced significant hydrological extremes in the form of floods
and droughts, having substantial impacts on communities, including numerous fatalities.
Record-breaking floods were observed in western Europe and in the northern Amazon. At
the same time, the Paraguay and Paraná Rivers experienced all-time record low water levels.

While providing a general overview of variability in anomalies of the global distribution of

terrestrial water resources in 2021, information from this report cannot be used to interpret
patterns in the change of water resources at national and local levels. Therefore, detailed
insights based on observational data are necessary. Hydrological data are usually gathered

28
and assessed by National Hydrological Services and/or other water resources institutions
at the national or subnational scale. Unfortunately, hydrological observation networks in
many parts of the world do not receive sufficient finance to ensure their sustainability and
guarantee high-data quality for assessments that are critical for society.

WMO is committed to gradually enhancing the annual State of Global Water Resources report
by encouraging its Members to share quality-controlled data at the global level. Based on
the findings of the present report, the following actions are recommended:

• Invest in filling the capacity gap in collecting data for basic hydrological variables and
assessment of hydrological status, including cryosphere, at the country level;
• Increase sharing of hydrological data at the international level;
• In line with the UN Secretary General’s call for Early Warning Systems for all by 2027,
accelerate development of end-to-end drought and flood early warning systems
for reducing the impact of hydrological extremes on people, lives and livelihoods,
ecosystems, and the economy at large in all parts of the world;
• Continue working together as a global hydrological community on developing the annual
State of Global Water Resources report to support global understanding, policymaking
and planning towards implementing the WMO Vision and Strategy for Hydrology as a
support to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals.

29
 Annexes

Annex 1. Technical Brief

Annex 2. Examples of extreme event assessments from NHMSs

30
List of acronyms

DJF: December–January–February

GHMS: Global Hydrological Modelling Systems

GRACE: Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment

GRDC: Global Runoff Data Centre

HydroSOS: Hydrological Status and Outlook System

JJA: June–July–August

NHMS: National Hydrological and Meteorological Services

SDG: Sustainable Development Goals

SON: September–October–November

TWS: Terrestrial Water Storage

WHOS: WMO Hydrological Observing System

WMO: World Meteorological Organization

31
 Endnotes
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3
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4
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5
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6
Espinoza, J.-C.; Marengo, J. A.; Schongart, J. et al. The New Historical Flood of 2021 in the
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7
Espinoza, J.-C.; Marengo, J. A.; Schongart, J. et al. The New Historical Flood of 2021 in the
Amazon River Compared to Major Floods of the 21st Century: Atmospheric Features in the
Context of the Intensification of Floods. Weather and Climate Extremes 2022, 35. https://www.
sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2212094721000931?via%3Dihub
8
Kammeyer, C.; Gleick, P.; Cooley, H. et al. The 2021 Western Drought: What to Expect
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9
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10
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11
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20
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21
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22
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23
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june-27-2022
24
https://reliefweb.int/disaster/tc-2021-000008-moz
25
Espinoza, J.-C.; Marengo, J. A.; Schongart, J. et al. The New Historical Flood of 2021 in the
Amazon River Compared to Major Floods of the 21st Century: Atmospheric Features in the
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27
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28
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31
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32
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37
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39
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40
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33
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