Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America
Northern America: Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -1.23 Percentage change in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America, 1981–2024
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
In 2024, exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America stood at -1.23 Percentage change.
The figure is up 53.2% on the previous year and down 36.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America peaked at 2.84 Percentage change in 1986 and was at its lowest, -3.45 Percentage change, in 2012.
Northern America ranks 19th of 67 groups 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 0.0863 Percentage change | — |
| 1982 | 2.33 Percentage change | +2595.7% |
| 1983 | 2.18 Percentage change | -6.3% |
| 1984 | 1.78 Percentage change | -18.3% |
| 1985 | 2.11 Percentage change | +18.2% |
| 1986 | 2.84 Percentage change | +34.9% |
| 1987 | 0.4673 Percentage change | -83.6% |
| 1988 | -1.79 Percentage change | -482.3% |
| 1989 | -1.86 Percentage change | +4.1% |
| 1990 | -1.49 Percentage change | -19.9% |
| 1991 | -0.0534 Percentage change | -96.4% |
| 1992 | 0.3775 Percentage change | -806.8% |
| 1993 | 1.35 Percentage change | +258.9% |
| 1994 | -0.6634 Percentage change | -149.0% |
| 1995 | 0.5275 Percentage change | -179.5% |
| 1996 | 0.9492 Percentage change | +79.9% |
| 1997 | 1.47 Percentage change | +55.3% |
| 1998 | 0.4389 Percentage change | -70.2% |
| 1999 | -1.59 Percentage change | -463.1% |
| 2000 | -0.8513 Percentage change | -46.6% |
| 2001 | -1.22 Percentage change | +42.8% |
| 2002 | -1.09 Percentage change | -10.6% |
| 2003 | -0.2894 Percentage change | -73.4% |
| 2004 | 0.8832 Percentage change | -405.1% |
| 2005 | -0.0293 Percentage change | -103.3% |
| 2006 | -2.04 Percentage change | +6853.8% |
| 2007 | -2.37 Percentage change | +16.0% |
| 2008 | -1.62 Percentage change | -31.4% |
| 2009 | -0.2902 Percentage change | -82.1% |
| 2010 | -0.5564 Percentage change | +91.7% |
| 2011 | -1.89 Percentage change | +240.3% |
| 2012 | -3.45 Percentage change | +82.1% |
| 2013 | -1.11 Percentage change | -67.7% |
| 2014 | -0.8987 Percentage change | -19.3% |
| 2015 | -0.5164 Percentage change | -42.5% |
| 2016 | -0.0766 Percentage change | -85.2% |
| 2017 | -0.4002 Percentage change | +422.6% |
| 2018 | -0.0585 Percentage change | -85.4% |
| 2019 | 1.51 Percentage change | -2673.0% |
| 2020 | -0.8995 Percentage change | -159.8% |
| 2021 | -1.24 Percentage change | +38.2% |
| 2022 | -2.93 Percentage change | +135.4% |
| 2023 | -2.62 Percentage change | -10.4% |
| 2024 | -1.23 Percentage change | -53.2% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | -6853.8% | -0.0293 Percentage change | -2.04 Percentage change |
| 2019 | +2673.0% | -0.0585 Percentage change | 1.51 Percentage change |
| 1982 | +2595.7% | 0.0863 Percentage change | 2.33 Percentage change |
| 1992 | +806.8% | -0.0534 Percentage change | 0.3775 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.9052 Percentage change | -1.86 Percentage change | 2.84 Percentage change | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.1321 Percentage change | -1.59 Percentage change | 1.47 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.8911 Percentage change | -2.37 Percentage change | 0.8832 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.7457 Percentage change | -3.45 Percentage change | 1.51 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.78 Percentage change | -2.93 Percentage change | -0.8995 Percentage change | 5 |
Countries ranked near Northern America
- 16 Kazakhstan 5.49 Percentage change compare
- 17 Faroe Islands 5.29 Percentage change compare
- 18 Palau 4.9 Percentage change compare
- 19 Réunion 4.75 Percentage change compare
- 20 Isle of Man 4.16 Percentage change compare
- 21 France 4.16 Percentage change compare
- 22 Svalbard and Jan Mayen 4.11 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Northern America
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.23 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.25 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.466 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.49 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 43.74 million t (2024)
- Paper and paperboard — Production 70.81 million t (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Production 60.43 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 92.54 million t (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 13.25 kg/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America?
- Exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern America was -1.23 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 Northern America?
- The highest recorded value was 2.84 Percentage change in 1986.
- What is the lowest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Northern America?
- The lowest recorded value was -3.45 Percentage change in 2012.
- How does Northern America rank for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Northern America ranks 19th out of 67 groups with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Northern America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 36.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Northern America 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 44 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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