Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in California
California: Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 0.0346 Percentage change in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in California, 1981–2024
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in California is 0.0346 Percentage change, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 99.3% on the previous year and up 100.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in California peaked at 17.69 Percentage change in 1983 and was at its lowest, -12.9 Percentage change, in 2013.
That places California 204th out of 730 regions with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.32 Percentage change | -4.88 Percentage change | 17.69 Percentage change | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.1776 Percentage change | -9.05 Percentage change | 13.77 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -3.15 Percentage change | -10.46 Percentage change | 7.64 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -3.33 Percentage change | -12.9 Percentage change | 8.88 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -4.98 Percentage change | -10.34 Percentage change | 5.03 Percentage change | 5 |
Countries ranked near California
- 201 Guyana -8.87 Percentage change compare
- 202 Romania -8.96 Percentage change compare
- 203 Palestine, State of -9.03 Percentage change compare
- 204 Yemen -9.27 Percentage change compare
- 205 Togo -9.49 Percentage change compare
- 206 Côte d’Ivoire -9.56 Percentage change compare
- 207 Brazil -9.66 Percentage change compare
More environment data for California
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.36 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -3.83 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.8111 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 16.08 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 49,362 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 3,322 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 3,623 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in California?
- Exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in California was 0.0346 Percentage change in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in California?
- The highest recorded value was 17.69 Percentage change in 1983.
- What is the lowest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in California?
- The lowest recorded value was -12.9 Percentage change in 2013.
- How does California rank for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- California ranks 204th out of 730 regions with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in California?
- Over the last ten years it is up 100.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this California data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Exposure to drought — Land 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