Every year, World Water Day (22 March) raises awareness and inspires action to tackle the water and sanitation crisis. It is a United Nations observance, coordinated by UN-Water and led by one or more UN-Water Members and Partners with a related mandate. World Water Day celebrates water and inspires action to tackle the global water crisis. A core focus of World Water Day is to support the achievement of Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 6: water and sanitation for all by 2030. World Water Day is an annual United Nations Observance – held on 22 March – focusing on the importance of freshwater, coordinated by UN-Water and led by one or more UN-Water Members and Partners with a related mandate. The theme of World Water Day 2025 is ‘Glacier Preservation’. Glaciers are critical to life – their meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems. Rapidly melting glaciers are causing uncertainty to water flows, with profound impacts on people and the planet. Global reductions in carbon emissions and local strategies to adapt to shrinking glaciers are essential. This World Water Day, we must work together to put glacier preservation at the core of our plans to tackle climate change and the global water crisis. see: https://www.un.org/en/observances/water-day
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Key messages for World Water Day 2025
Glaciers are melting faster than ever. As the planet gets hotter due to climate change, our frozen world is shrinking, making the water cycle more unpredictable and extreme.
Glacial retreat threatens devastation. For billions of people, meltwater flows are changing, causing floods, droughts, landslides and sea level rise, and damaging ecosystems.
Glacier preservation is a survival strategy. We must work together to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and manage meltwater more sustainably for people and the planet.
In 2023, glaciers lost more than 600 gigatons of water, the largest mass loss registered in 50 years. (WMO)
About 70% of Earth’s freshwater exists as snow or ice. (WMO)
Nearly 2 billion people rely on water from glaciers, snowmelt and mountain run-off for drinking, agriculture, and energy production. (UN-Water/UNESCO)
Increased glacier melting contributes significantly to global sea-level rise, with today’s sea level about 20 cm higher than in 1900. (IPCC)
Limiting global warming to 1.5°C could save glaciers in two-thirds of World Heritage sites. (UNESCO/IUCN)
Resources
Here are some resources to help inform and inspire you to take part in the World Water Day 2025 campaign on ‘Glacier Preservation’.
Campaign resources
Visual identifier (zip file)
Infographic (zip file)
Animated infographic: download or watch on Youtube
Poster (zip file)
Social Media kit (zip file)
UN-Water
LEARN HOW YOU CAN CELEBRATE: https://wash-rag.org/Stories/how-will-your-club-celebrate-world-water-day