UN warns water cycle becoming increasingly erratic, El Niño to worsen trend

The United Nations warned Thursday that the planet’s water cycle is becoming increasingly erratic, with precipitation patterns swinging between severe drought and intense flooding. The UN’s latest climate assessment attributes the growing volatility to rising global temperatures, which intensify evaporation, alter atmospheric circulation, and disrupt the timing and distribution of rainfall across regions.

An unprecedented El Niño event, projected to develop later this year, is expected to amplify the existing trend by delivering anomalously high temperatures and further destabilising weather systems. The UN cautioned that the combined impact of a stronger El Niño and the underlying shift in the water cycle could exacerbate water scarcity in already arid areas while increasing flood risks in vulnerable coastal and riverine zones, underscoring the need for accelerated adaptation and mitigation measures worldwide.