Count every drop: Every drop counts

Fresh water is vital for life. On average, a human being cannot survive more than three days without it. Water is essential for the production of our food, virtually all of our goods and services and for the environment. The world faces increasing challenges posed by water stress, floods and droughts and lack of access to clean supplies. There is an urgent need to improve forecasting, monitoring and management and to tackle the problem of too much, too little or too polluted water. In 2020, World Meteorological Day and World Water Day share the same theme: Climate and Water. They focus on managing climate and water in a coordinated and integrated manner because climate and water are inextricably linked. Both lie at the heart of global goals on sustainable development, climate change and disaster risk reduction. Water is one of the most precious commodities of the 21st century. National Meteorological and Hydrological Services (NMHSs) will be central to efforts to “count every drop because every drop counts”.