Record temperatures last year pushed the global water cycle to “new climatic extremes,” according to the Global Water Monitor 2024 report. The document, produced by an international consortium led by researchers at Australian National University, states that these climatic anomalies caused devastating floods and droughts that resulted in more than 8,700 deaths, the displacement of 40 million people, and economic losses exceeding $550 billion.

The report was conducted by an international team and was led by ANU professor Albert van Dijk. It reveals that 2024 was the warmest year so far for nearly 4 billion people in 111 countries, and that air temperatures over the Earth’s surface were 1.2 degrees Celsius higher than documented at the beginning of the century and 2.2 degrees Celsius higher than at the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Van Dijk asserts that water systems around the globe were affected. “From historic droughts to catastrophic floods, these severe climate variations affect lives, livelihoods, and entire ecosystems. Water is our most important resource, and its extreme conditions are among the greatest threats we face,” he says.

The report authors analyzed data from thousands of ground and satellite stations that collect near real-time information on critical water variables, including rainfall intensity and frequency, soil moisture, and flooding.

“We found rainfall records are being broken with increasing regularity. For example, record-high monthly rainfall totals were achieved 27 percent more frequently in 2024 than at the start of this century, whereas daily rainfall records were achieved 52 percent more frequently. Record lows were 38 percent more frequent, so we are seeing worse extremes on both sides,” says Van Dijk.

The research states that, as a consequence, sea-surface temperatures rose, intensifying tropical cyclones and droughts in the Amazon basin and southern Africa. Global warming favored the formation of slower-moving storms in Europe, Asia, and Brazil, subjecting some regions—such as Valencia in Spain—to ext...