World Water Day 2025; March 22nd.

EVENTS: This year World Water Day, on the theme of “Glacier Preservation”, will be marked with an event at United Nations Headquarters in New York which will also celebrate the inaugural World Day for Glaciers The UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and World Meteorological Organization (WMO) are co-coordinators of the World Water Day 2025 Task Force, the World Day for Glaciers, and the 2025 as International Year of Glaciers' Preservation, which initiates the start of the Decade of Action on Cryospheric Science (2025–2034).

To maximize attention on the critical issue of rapidly melting glaciers and their impact on billions of people’s lives, the World Water Day 2025 theme - “Glacier Preservation” - is in support of the first-ever World Day for Glaciers.

A joint celebration event will take place on Friday 21 March, on the eve of World Water Day (March 22nd), at UN Headquarters, hosted by the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Tajikistan to the United Nations, and supported by the Permanent UN Missions of Canada, Republic of Peru, Republic of Singapore, Swiss Confederation, and United Arab Emirates, UNESCO, WMO, UN Department for Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA), UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), and United Nations University Institute for Water, Environment and Health (UNU-INWEH)

At the event, high-level speakers and panel discussions will focus on key issues around glacier preservation, and the agenda will include the presentation of the “United Nations World Water Development Report 2025: Mountains and Glaciers – Water Towers”, published by UNESCO on behalf of UN-Water, with its production coordinated by the UNESCO World Water Assessment Programme.

World Day for Glaciers & World Water Day 2025 Celebration in New York
21 March 2025, 10:00 to 13:00 (EST)
UNHQ, Trusteeship Council Chamber, New York, USANew York, USA
Get the Tentative agenda!


There will be a range of global events to mark World Water Day 2025, including:

World Day for Glaciers & World Water Day 2025 Celebration in  Paris.
Brainstorming session on the decade of Action for Cryospheric Sciences (20th) followed by high-level talks and discussions and presentation of the “United Nations World Water Development Report 2025: Mountains and Glaciers – Water Towers”
20-21 March 2025
UNESCO Headquarters, Paris, France
Register here.
Tentative agenda.

“World Water Day 2025: Water and Glaciers – From Science to Policy” - webinar.
Bringing together experts to discuss the latest scientific findings, policy responses, social initiatives, and innovative solutions for glacier conservation.
20 March 2025, 13:30 to 15:00 CET
Register here.
More information.

Bridging Gender Gaps in Water Governance - webinar.
This World Water Day side-event highlights the critical need for gender equity in water security.
21 March 2025, 15:00 to 16:30 CET
Register here.

“Glaciers and Groundwater Interactions: Challenges in a Changing Climate” - webinar.
Expert overviews and case studies on the importance of groundwater in storing glacial meltwater. Panel discussions on future solutions and research needed.
21 March 2025, 14:00 to 15:30 CET
Join webinar.

World Water Day Webinar: Preserving Glaciers and Water Towers | Celebrating 200 Years of Relations between Chile and the Netherlands.
Marking World Water Day 2025, this event will bring together experts and policymakers to discuss glacier and water tower preservation, highlighting their role in climate resilience and sustainable development.
24 March 2025, 14:00 CET
Register here.

Water and Climate Issues in Central Asia: The Role of Remote Sensing – webinar.
This event explores how remote sensing helps people cope with the risk of glacial lake outbursts and other impacts of rapid glacier melting in Central Asia.
24 March 2025, 12:00-13:00 GMT
Register here.

Climate Change and Water Security: A Global, Regional and Local Approach to Resilience - webinar.
Commemorating World Water Day 2025, this event will discuss the challenges and solutions related to water security in the context of climate change adaptation.
25 March 2025, 13:00 CET
Register here.
More information.

PUBLICATION: The 2025 edition of the United Nations World Water Development Report  entitled ''Mountains and glaciers - Water towers.'' highlighted the importance of mountain waters, including alpine glaciers, which are vital for meeting basic human needs such as water supply and sanitation. They are also essential to ensuring food and energy security to billions of people living in and around mountain regions and areas downstream. They also support economic growth through various water-reliant industries. As the ‘water towers’ of the world, mountains are an essential source of fresh water. They store water in the form of ice and snow during cold seasons, releasing it during warmer seasons as a major source of fresh water for users downstream. Mountains play a unique and critical role in the global water cycle, and they affect atmospheric circulation, which drives weather and precipitation patterns. Speaking to reporters at the launch of the report on (March 21st) Bhanu Neupane, Process Coordinator for the UNESCO World Water Development Report said, “The facts are clear. We are not just approaching a global water crisis. 

We are already living it.” “Solutions do exist,” the UNESCO official said, reiterating that “we must invest in better water monitoring and management. We must strengthen international cooperation, primarily to bring a new era of multilateral and multi-stakeholder collaboration. We must act now, because climate change is accelerating, water crisis and delays will cost lives.” 

Neupane also said, “mountains are not just landscape. They are the lifeline of our planet. The water sustains billions of people.” He concluded, “the water security is not a future problem but it exists now; and mountains are dramatically changing. The question is whether or not we will change with the mountains.”

Watch the United Nations World Water Development Report - Press Conference!

For billions of people, mountain meltwater is essential for drinking water and sanitation, food and energy security, and the integrity of the environment. But today, as the world warms, glaciers are melting faster than ever, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme. And because of glacial retreat, floods, droughts, landslides and sea-level rise are intensifying, with devastating consequences for people and nature. The United Nations World Water Development Report 2025: Mountains and glaciers - Water towers offers solutions to help us simultaneously mitigate and adapt to rapid changes in our frozen water resources. This report provides a clear overview of the current state of play and recommends what needs to change. The urgent need to drastically reduce carbon emissions is emphatically repeated. By detailing the connections between mountain fresh water, essential services and the natural world, this publication highlights the critical importance of conserving the cryosphere to the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals.



Read the full The United Nations World Water Development Report 2025 "Mountains and Glaciers - Water towers" in| French | Italian.

The Executive summary in Arabic | Chinese | French | German | Hindi | Italian | Korean | Nepali | Portuguese | Russian | Spanish | Vietnamese

The Facts, figures and action examples in| French | Italian | Nepali | Portuguese | Spanish.

World Water Week 2012 in Stockholm

This year the World Water Week in Stockholm, Sweden will address the theme "Water and Food Security". UN-Water will jointly organize and contribute to a series of seminars and events and also expects you throughout the week at the UN-Water Pavilion in the exhibition Hall B.




27 August Seminar | 15.45 to 18.45: The UN International Year and World Water Day 2013: Water Cooperation" The UN International Year 2013 and the World Water Day, 22 March 2013, will be devoted to the theme of Water Cooperation. The Seminar will officially launch and introduce the preparations for both, the Year and the Day, and will allow participants to exchange their views and perspectives on the essence of water cooperation. Seminar | 12.00 to 13.45: Tracking National Financial Flows to Sanitation, Hygiene and Drinking-water UN-Water GLAAS proposed a standard approach for tracking national financial flows for sanitation and drinking-water. It is proposed that this method be globally tested in 2012/13 and then used as the methodology to collect the GLAAS 2014 financial data. Participants will discuss how it could be further developed and adopted. Read more on GLASS


28 August Side event | 17.45 to 18.45: UN-Water project on the "Safe Use of Wastewater in Agriculture" Wastewater is a resource in urban and peri-urban areas which can alleviate pressure on (fresh) water sources and improve food security. To ensure that its use is safe, national policies and strategies need to be in place. This UN-Water capacity development project brings together expertise in UN agencies to focus on the issue.



30 August Seminar | 9.00 to 12.30: "Drinking Water, Sanitation and Hygiene – Preparing the Next Generation of Goals, Targets and Indicators" Current global monitoring of drinking-water and sanitation does not provide a detailed assessment of service coverage, nor covers hygiene. JMP and partners are developing post-2015 indicators taking into account the Human right to water and sanitation. The seminar will present first results and invite participants to contribute.

World Water Week in Stockholm, 26-31 August 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm 26-31 August 2012 - Stockholm, Sweden   2012-07-26 | See more while in Stockholm! Explore World Water Week's field trips and excursions! Learn about how Stockholm havs applied technologies for wastewater reuse and treatment and strategies for sustainable city planning. 2012-07-24 | Looming conflicts on transboundary waters? Conflict Resolution & Transboundary Water is one of the themes this year. Check out the seminars and side events exploring transboundary water issues. 2012-07-16 | Climate and Energy events at World Water Week This year we continue the discussion on the connections between water and energy. Also, with natural climate variability and human induced climate change risk worsening, water related climate change remains strong on our agenda. 2012-07-16 | Ecosystems role to be discussed in a workshop This workshop will discuss the impact of food production on water and ecosystems on the context of food security and how to address solutions for managing the trade-offs between human needs and healthy ecosystems. 2012-07-12 | World Water Week launches mobile website The World Water Week now also has its own mobile website! 2012-07-10 | Land and Water Aqusition themed events During the 2012 World Water Week in Stockholm, there are a number of Land and Water Aqusition themed events, to learn more, please click on the events below or use our interactive Event Finder. 2012-07-09 | Financial instruments for food security and water resource use Are there creative financial tools to support poor people in their development and coping capacity following increased natural catastrophes? 2012-07-09 | Closing the Yield Gap Workshop The workshop will address ways to increase water productivity and close yield gaps. How can soil and water management be improved? 2012-07-03 | Gender aspects on food security and water Why women matter to the food security? At this year's week, there are a number of events covering gender aspects on food security and water. 2012-07-02 | Water efficiency in food supply chain A more productive use of limited, highly demanded and unreliable water resources is necessary. In most debates, an increase in water productivity is associated with a more efficient supply chain. See this year's events on this issue. 2012-07-02 | The role of Blue Water workshop By participating in this workshop you will discuss the actual, and potential, role of the blue water resources for food security. 2012-06-29 | Welcome new and longstanding sponsors! The World Water Week in Stockholm is pleased to present the 2012 sponsors.