Earth’s water cycle is becoming harder to predict as the climate changes, UN scientists have warned. RainfallWhile 2024 was generally a dry and hot year, featuring record-breaking temperatures driven by the warming El Nino weather phenomenon, it also saw significant flooding events, the scientists said. While the world has natural cycles of climate variability from year to year, long-term trends outlined in the report indicate the water cycle, at a global scale, is accelerating. Stefan Uhlenbrook, WMO director of hydrology in the water and cryosphere division, said scientists feel it is “increasingly difficult to predict”. As global warming drives higher global temperatures, the atmosphere can hold more water, leading either to longer dry periods or more intense rainfall.