People walk through flooded streets in Valencia, Spain, Wednesday, Oct. 30, 2024. (AP Photo/Alberto Saiz)

(CN) — Rising temperatures associated with climate change are wreaking havoc on the global water cycle and creating more favorable conditions for extreme natural disasters worldwide, according to a report released Monday by the Australian National University.

The 2024 Global Water Monitor Report was compiled using data from thousands of ground stations and satellites to gain insights into factors including rainfall, soil moisture, river flows and flooding. 

Affirming that 2024 was Earth’s hottest year on record, researchers found that excess heat affected more than 4 billion people in 111 countries. Air temperatures over land have increased 1.2 degrees Celsius since 2000, and about 2.2 degrees Celsius since the start of the Industrial Revolution.

A corresponding increase in sea surface temperatures generated a greater frequency or intensity of severe weather, resulting in flash floods like those in Spain in November, river floods such as those seen in Brazil in April and May and persistent droughts that have devastated economies and health in southern Africa and elsewhere, as well as tropical cyclones and landslides. 

Altogether, water-related disasters last year killed more than 8,700 people, displaced more than 40 million others and caused economic losses exceeding $550 billion, according to the report.

“2024 was a year of extremes but was not an isolated occurrence,” said Albert Van Dijk, a professor of water science and management and lead author of the report. “It is part of a worsening trend of more intense floods, prolonged droughts, and record-breaking extremes.”

Van Dijk noted it was the fourth year in a row of record high temperatures — and that global water systems were particularly sensitive to the changes.

“We found rainfall records are being broken with increasing regularity,” he said.

Among other findings, the data indicated record high monthly rainfall totals were 27% more frequent in 2024 than they were in 2000, while daily rainfall records were achieved 52% more frequently. On the other hand, record low rainfall totals were 38% more frequent.

“We are seeing worse extremes on both sides,” Van Dijk said.  

The Global Water Monitor Report has been published annually since 2022. It's accompanied by an online data explorer that is updated within days or weeks of every significant global rain event. Researchers hope the data will help planners and policymakers prepare for weather exacerbated by climate change while also increasing resiliency for recovery efforts. 

Van Dijk suggests stronger flood defenses, more drought-proof food production methods and water supplies, and better early warning systems as antidotes.

“Water is our most critical resource, and its extremes — both floods and droughts — are among the greatest threats we face,” he said.