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Worldwide river streams hit lowest levels in 2023, UN says

River flows around the globe fell to alltime lows in 2015 in the middle of record heat, endangering water supplies in an era of growing demand, a U.N. weather agency report revealed on Monday.

Extended dry spells cut river flows in big parts of North, Central and South America with the Mississippi and Amazon River basins reporting record low water levels in 2023, according to the State of Worldwide Water Resources report based on data going back 33 years.

The Ganges and Mekong river basins also experienced below-average conditions. Overall, 50% of international catchment locations revealed irregular conditions, with most remaining in deficit and reducing water availability for farming and industry.

Water is becoming the most telling indicator of our time of climate's distress and yet, as a worldwide society, we are not acting to safeguard these reserves, World Meteorological Company (WMO) Secretary-General Celeste Saulo informed press reporters at a Geneva press briefing.

She cautioned that water cycles were ending up being more erratic due to environment modification and called for increased hydrological monitoring to track and respond to the changes.

The Amazon drought has actually repeated this year, with mud banks emerging in previously navigable segments.

Stefan Uhlenbrook, the WMO's Director of Hydrology, stated he expected more water scarcity this year in parts of the world where brand-new heat records have been reported.

Likely this hot, dry weather continues to translate to low river circulation, he informed press reporters.

The record heat last year likewise led to the greatest mass losses for the world's glaciers in 50 years, the WMO report showed. In general, they lost 600 gigatonnes of water in an extreme melt year.

Rivers fed by glaciers such as those in Europe and Scandinavia experienced high river streams as a result, said Uhlenbrook, but stated this would fall substantially in future years.

When the glacier is entered a couple of more years. It will be extremely remarkable, he said.

(source: Reuters)