Abstract There are considerable difficulties in assembling global hydrological data sets in near real time, data that might be used for deciding investment for sustainable water resources development and management, for environmental protection and for studying global change. Several reasons exist for these difficulties, a new one is that many countries have recently been cutting back on hydrological networks and the services that operate them. This means that knowledge of the World's water resources is getting worse when the global demand for water is accelerating. By way of contrast, meteorologists have ready access to large volumes of global data, much of it in real time, principally through WMO's World Weather Watch (WWW). A World Hydrological Cycle Observing System (WHYCOS) is proposed to facilitate access to global data and support hydrological services in need. A world-wide network of about 1000 stations is planned for the largest rivers, together with associated data bases and products to meet the...