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Key Points
- Water-related disasters killed thousands, displaced millions and caused over $884 billion of damage in 2024.
- A new study has found record-breaking temperatures are changing the way water moves within the Earth.
- Extreme events such as floods, cyclones and droughts are also wreaking havoc on the water cycle.
Ongoing climate change increases the potential for flash floods, flash droughts, intense storms and heatwaves across many regions, according to the 2024 Global Water Monitor.
Scientists say record-breaking temperatures are changing the way water moves around the world. Source: AAP / Dave Hunt
“But it’s not on people’s agenda until your house burns or washes away, or you don’t have water coming out of the tap,” lead author professor Albert van Dijk said.
“But the extremes are also getting more extreme,” he said, calling for better flood defences, improved early warning systems, and more drought-resilient food production and water supplies.
How heatwaves and floods are impacting water cycles
The Australia West Coast and Lake Eyre basins were among the 21 river basins with record-high annual discharge values.
Globally, the number of frost days was the lowest on record while annual minimum temperatures were increasing, especially in the tropics.
