Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia
Australia: Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -4.11 Percentage change in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia, 1981–2024
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
In 2024, exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia stood at -4.11 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 27.1% on the previous year and up 8.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia peaked at 14.61 Percentage change in 2022 and was at its lowest, -14.89 Percentage change, in 2019.
Australia ranks 79th of 167 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1.76 Percentage change | — |
| 1982 | -13.61 Percentage change | -873.7% |
| 1983 | 9.17 Percentage change | -167.4% |
| 1984 | 5.99 Percentage change | -34.7% |
| 1985 | 0.6521 Percentage change | -89.1% |
| 1986 | 3.03 Percentage change | +364.8% |
| 1987 | -0.3941 Percentage change | -113.0% |
| 1988 | 5.45 Percentage change | -1482.6% |
| 1989 | 10.01 Percentage change | +83.8% |
| 1990 | 5.59 Percentage change | -44.1% |
| 1991 | -2.08 Percentage change | -137.3% |
| 1992 | 13.22 Percentage change | -734.7% |
| 1993 | 4.94 Percentage change | -62.6% |
| 1994 | -11.95 Percentage change | -341.7% |
| 1995 | 3.04 Percentage change | -125.5% |
| 1996 | 5.48 Percentage change | +80.0% |
| 1997 | -3.1 Percentage change | -156.5% |
| 1998 | 5.99 Percentage change | -293.3% |
| 1999 | 2.89 Percentage change | -51.7% |
| 2000 | 2.56 Percentage change | -11.5% |
| 2001 | -3.52 Percentage change | -237.7% |
| 2002 | -14.36 Percentage change | +307.6% |
| 2003 | -1.08 Percentage change | -92.5% |
| 2004 | -5.07 Percentage change | +369.6% |
| 2005 | -2.06 Percentage change | -59.4% |
| 2006 | -14 Percentage change | +581.4% |
| 2007 | -5.38 Percentage change | -61.6% |
| 2008 | -4.18 Percentage change | -22.4% |
| 2009 | -6.44 Percentage change | +54.2% |
| 2010 | 7.45 Percentage change | -215.6% |
| 2011 | 4.63 Percentage change | -37.9% |
| 2012 | -3.63 Percentage change | -178.4% |
| 2013 | -4.05 Percentage change | +11.6% |
| 2014 | -4.47 Percentage change | +10.5% |
| 2015 | -3.66 Percentage change | -18.3% |
| 2016 | 7.58 Percentage change | -307.4% |
| 2017 | -5.83 Percentage change | -176.8% |
| 2018 | -11.62 Percentage change | +99.5% |
| 2019 | -14.89 Percentage change | +28.1% |
| 2020 | 1.29 Percentage change | -108.6% |
| 2021 | 6.17 Percentage change | +379.9% |
| 2022 | 14.61 Percentage change | +136.8% |
| 2023 | -5.64 Percentage change | -138.6% |
| 2024 | -4.11 Percentage change | -27.1% |
Australia compared with similar countries
- Australia's -4.11 Percentage change is below the median for high income countries, which is -2.52 Percentage change, 1.6× the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Australia's -4.11 Percentage change is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is -3.55 Percentage change, 1.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 | +1482.6% | -0.3941 Percentage change | 5.45 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.45 Percentage change | -13.61 Percentage change | 10.01 Percentage change | 9 |
| 1990s | 2.4 Percentage change | -11.95 Percentage change | 13.22 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -5.35 Percentage change | -14.36 Percentage change | 2.56 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.85 Percentage change | -14.89 Percentage change | 7.58 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.46 Percentage change | -5.64 Percentage change | 14.61 Percentage change | 5 |
Countries ranked near Australia
- 76 Mongolia -3.89 Percentage change compare
- 77 Myanmar -3.91 Percentage change compare
- 78 Saudi Arabia -3.96 Percentage change compare
- 80 Australia and New Zealand -4.22 Percentage change compare
- 81 Faroe Islands -4.28 Percentage change compare
- 82 Czechia -4.29 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.75 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.345 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.4 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -1.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 0.6708 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 0.0861 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia?
- Exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Australia was -4.11 Percentage change in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 14.61 Percentage change in 2022.
- What is the lowest exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was -14.89 Percentage change in 2019.
- How does Australia rank for exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Australia ranks 79th out of 167 countries with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The dataset provides annual anomalies in land and cropland soil moisture content of the top soil layer compared to the reference period 1981-2010. Exposure indicators to drought have been prepared by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The datasets span the period 1981-2022 and is the result of the use of a variety of geospatial data sources, including the ERA5-Land averaged monthly data of volumetric soil moisture and ESA CCI land cover data. Average anomalies have been calculated for both land and cropland exposure to drought. The dataset has a global coverage on a national level; on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. A number of aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas and the LAC region. Data source(s): Copernicus Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Copernicus Climate Data Store monthly soil moisture data (ERA5). Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation