July 2025 – The world is facing the challenge of unprecedented droughts, according to a new report published jointly by the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Droughts are becoming more frequent, persistent, and destructive as the effects of climate change, land degradation, and the overuse of water resources converge. The report calls for greater global policy collaboration to combat drought and for sustainable water management strategies to be implemented as soon as possible.
Drought frequency and intensity on the rise
According to the UN report Global Drought Status Report 2024, global drought events have increased by nearly 30% since 2000, with more than 1.5 billion people around the world affected by drought between 2022 and 2024, particularly in the Horn of Africa, Central Asia, Southern Europe, and parts of South America. Crop failures, water depletion, and migration are on the rise.
“Drought has become one of the most silent yet deadly natural disasters facing human society.” Mami Mizutori, head of the United Nations Office for Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (UNISDR), noted at the launch of the report, “Droughts are not as instantaneous as earthquakes or floods, but their impacts are far-reaching and long-lasting, especially in terms of food security and ecosystem stability.”
Climate change and human activities exacerbate the crisis
Petteri Taalas, secretary-general of the World Meteorological Organization, said global warming has already caused changes in rainfall patterns, with high temperatures accelerating evaporation of water, leading to a sharp decline in water resources in several continental regions. “The contribution of human activities to drought cannot be ignored, with behaviors such as over-irrigation in agriculture, deforestation, and urban sprawl all continuing to weaken the land’s ability to repair itself.”
In the Middle East and North Africa, more than 90 percent of agricultural land is dependent on irrigation. Groundwater extraction in some countries in the Arabian Peninsula far exceeds natural recharge rates, the report notes, and has led to a steady decline in water levels and jeopardized drinking water security for decades to come. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) also noted in its thematic report on drought that drought is no longer just a “problem of nature” but a “crisis of failed management”.
China, the United States, and Africa are the most affected regions
In China, 2024 saw a rare and prolonged spring drought in Sichuan and Yunnan, with some reservoirs drying up and hydropower generation plummeting, severely affecting food cultivation and power supply. Data from the Ministry of Water Resources (MWR) show that more than 38 million people were affected by the national drought in the summer of 2024, one of the highest in the past decade.
In the U.S., the ongoing drought in California and the Colorado River Basin is now in its fifth year, with reservoir storage falling to record lows. According to meteorological data provided by the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the 2024 drought in the West has affected more than 40 percent of farmland, with economic losses amounting to billions of dollars.
Meanwhile, in the Horn of Africa, where drought has persisted for more than a decade in Somalia, Ethiopia, and Kenya, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) notes that some 13 million people have been displaced due to water and food shortages in the region.
Policy responses and recommendations for action
The UN report calls for countries to take immediate and coordinated drought management measures, including:
- Establishing national drought contingency plans;
- Promoting the modernization of meteorological early warning systems;
- Promoting water-saving agriculture and recycled water use;
- Promoting water-saving agriculture and recycled water use, and coordinating transboundary management of water resources.
At the same time, the report also emphasizes the need for countries to develop long-term land restoration policies and enhance the protection of forests, water sources, and wetlands. “We need to find a new balance between restoring ecosystems and human development.” Maria Lorenzo, a drought adaptation advisor at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), said in an interview.
Public awareness needs to be raised urgently
Although drought has become a widespread global threat, public awareness of its severity is still far from adequate. “Drought is not a distant future, but an ongoing crisis.” WMO experts say that a large number of urban dwellers do not realize that drought will not only affect rural agriculture, but will also lead to a series of knock-on effects such as tightening water supplies in cities, higher food prices, and even a tightening of electricity consumption.
To raise global public awareness, the UN plans to launch a global advocacy program on “Addressing Drought, Building the Future Together” before World Water Day (March 22) in 2025, which will be based on science education, social media campaigns and community participation to raise awareness of water conservation and climate resilience among the entire population.
Conclusion
Global climate risk is accelerating, and drought is evolving from a “cyclical natural disaster” to a “structural crisis”. This UN report is another wake-up call that only through scientific planning, technological innovation, and global cooperation can countries effectively curb the multiple impacts of drought in the coming decades.
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