March 22 is the annual celebration of World Water Day. Created by the United Nations Observance, the day highlights the importance of fresh water and raises awareness of the global water crisis, which has left 2.2 billion people without access to safe water.
Every year, World Water Day has a set theme, and the theme for 2025 is “Glacier Preservation.” Previous themes were Accelerating Change in 2023 and Leveraging Water for Peace in 2024.
The United Nations states that glaciers are melting faster than ever, and as the planet continues to get hotter, our frozen world is shrinking, making the water cycle more unpredictable.
This year’s theme focuses on glaciers’ crucial role in life and the need for the world to work together to prioritize glacier preservation. The glaciers’ meltwater is essential for drinking water, agriculture, industry, clean energy production and healthy ecosystems.
For this year’s theme, UN-Water, the United Nations’ coordination mechanism on water and sanitation, has released several pieces of resource material. This includes an activation kit, a campaign video, a certificate, social media graphics and a fact sheet.
UN-Water also created a Trello webpage that features all its content on one platform. This includes shareable social media graphics available in multiple languages.
Multiple global events will be held in honour of the day. On the eve of World Water Day, a joint celebration will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Events also include:
- World Day for Glaciers & World Water Day 2025 Celebration – Paris
- World Water Day Webinar: Water and Glaciers – From Science to Policy webinar
- World Water Day Webinar: Bridging Gender Gaps in Water Governance
- World Water Day Webinar: Glaciers and Groundwater Interactions: Challenges in a Changing Climate
- World Water Day Webinar: Preserving Glaciers and Water Towers, Celebrating 200 Years of Relations between Chile and the Netherlands
- World Water Day Webinar: Water and Climate Issues in Central Asia: The Role of Remote Sensing
- World Water Day Webinar: Climate Change and Water Security: A Global, Regional and Local Approach to Resilience webinar
The efforts made during World Water Day support the United Nations’ goal of water and sanitation for all by 2030.