O=C=O<p>Mountains and Glaciers: Water towers<br>UN World Water Development Report</p><p>Mountain waters are essential to humans and ecosystems</p><p>The 2025 edition of the <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/UnitedNations" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>UnitedNations</span></a> World Water Development Report highlights the importance of <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/mountain" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>mountain</span></a> waters, including alpine <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/glaciers" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>glaciers</span></a>, which are vital for meeting basic human needs such as water supply and sanitation. They are also essential to ensuring <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/food" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>food</span></a> and <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/energy" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>energy</span></a> 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 <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/water" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>water</span></a>. They store water in the form of <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ice" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ice</span></a> and <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/snow" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>snow</span></a> 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 <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/WaterCycle" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>WaterCycle</span></a>, and they affect atmospheric circulation, which drives <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/weather" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>weather</span></a> and <a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/precipitation" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>precipitation</span></a> patterns.</p><p><a href="https://www.unesco.org/reports/wwdr/en/2025" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" translate="no" target="_blank"><span class="invisible">https://www.</span><span class="ellipsis">unesco.org/reports/wwdr/en/202</span><span class="invisible">5</span></a></p><p><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Environment" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Environment</span></a><br><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/ClimateCrisis" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>ClimateCrisis</span></a><br><a href="https://climatejustice.social/tags/Cryosphere" class="mention hashtag" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">#<span>Cryosphere</span></a></p>