Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America
South and Central America: Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -8.51 Percentage change in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America, 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 South and Central America is -8.51 Percentage change, measured in 2024. That is the lowest value across all 44 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.2% on the previous year and down 683.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America peaked at 3.79 Percentage change in 1984 and was at its lowest, -8.51 Percentage change, in 2024.
South and Central America ranks 616th of 719 regions on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1.04 Percentage change | — |
| 1982 | 1.72 Percentage change | +65.7% |
| 1983 | 1.19 Percentage change | -30.7% |
| 1984 | 3.79 Percentage change | +217.8% |
| 1985 | 3.27 Percentage change | -13.5% |
| 1986 | 2.24 Percentage change | -31.5% |
| 1987 | 0.6117 Percentage change | -72.7% |
| 1988 | -0.9068 Percentage change | -248.2% |
| 1989 | 1.4 Percentage change | -254.7% |
| 1990 | 1.56 Percentage change | +10.9% |
| 1991 | 1.08 Percentage change | -30.8% |
| 1992 | 2.14 Percentage change | +99.1% |
| 1993 | 0.7044 Percentage change | -67.2% |
| 1994 | 0.143 Percentage change | -79.7% |
| 1995 | -1.73 Percentage change | -1309.6% |
| 1996 | 0.4416 Percentage change | -125.5% |
| 1997 | -0.5294 Percentage change | -219.9% |
| 1998 | -0.5681 Percentage change | +7.3% |
| 1999 | -0.1861 Percentage change | -67.2% |
| 2000 | 1.13 Percentage change | -705.3% |
| 2001 | -0.0192 Percentage change | -101.7% |
| 2002 | -0.9137 Percentage change | +4662.6% |
| 2003 | -2.13 Percentage change | +132.8% |
| 2004 | -1.3 Percentage change | -39.0% |
| 2005 | -2.32 Percentage change | +79.1% |
| 2006 | -1.66 Percentage change | -28.4% |
| 2007 | -3.12 Percentage change | +87.2% |
| 2008 | -2.16 Percentage change | -30.7% |
| 2009 | -1.9 Percentage change | -12.2% |
| 2010 | -3.03 Percentage change | +59.6% |
| 2011 | -2.17 Percentage change | -28.3% |
| 2012 | -2.98 Percentage change | +37.3% |
| 2013 | -1.69 Percentage change | -43.2% |
| 2014 | -1.09 Percentage change | -35.7% |
| 2015 | -2.62 Percentage change | +140.8% |
| 2016 | -2.38 Percentage change | -9.1% |
| 2017 | -1.7 Percentage change | -28.6% |
| 2018 | -1.86 Percentage change | +9.5% |
| 2019 | -4.1 Percentage change | +120.6% |
| 2020 | -6.18 Percentage change | +50.6% |
| 2021 | -4.66 Percentage change | -24.5% |
| 2022 | -5.56 Percentage change | +19.3% |
| 2023 | -8.49 Percentage change | +52.7% |
| 2024 | -8.51 Percentage change | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.6 Percentage change | -0.9068 Percentage change | 3.79 Percentage change | 9 |
| 1990s | 0.3054 Percentage change | -1.73 Percentage change | 2.14 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.44 Percentage change | -3.12 Percentage change | 1.13 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.36 Percentage change | -4.1 Percentage change | -1.09 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -6.68 Percentage change | -8.51 Percentage change | -4.66 Percentage change | 5 |
More environment data for South and Central America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.99 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.93 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -9 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 4.95 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 1.45 million Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America?
- Exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America was -8.51 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 South and Central America?
- The highest recorded value was 3.79 Percentage change in 1984.
- What is the lowest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in South and Central America?
- The lowest recorded value was -8.51 Percentage change in 2024.
- How does South and Central America rank for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- South and Central America ranks 616th out of 719 regions with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South and Central America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 683.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South and Central 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.
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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