WMO State of Global Water Resources 2025: Glacier Mass Loss Continues for Fourth Straight Year

23 September 2026National

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) released its State of Global Water Resources 2025 report, finding that 2025 was the fourth consecutive year in which every major glaciated region recorded a net loss of ice. Global glacier loss was estimated at 408 ± 132 gigatonnes, equivalent to a sea-level rise of 1.1 ± 0.4 millimetres. Six of the seven largest annual losses on record fell in the last seven years, and glaciers shed a cumulative 1,400 gigatonnes between 2023 and 2025 — roughly one-third of annual global freshwater withdrawals. Mountain glaciers have lost about 6.2% of total ice mass between 2000 and 2025, signalling shrinking freshwater reserves and an erratic water cycle.

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WMO founded 23 March 1950, HQ Geneva, Switzerland | WMO is a specialised agency of the United Nations | World Meteorological Day is observed on 23 March

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