Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South West England
South West England: Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 3.24 Percentage change in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South West England, 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 South West England stood at 3.24 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 71.0% on the previous year and up 19.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South West England peaked at 7.07 Percentage change in 2012 and was at its lowest, -11.36 Percentage change, in 1990.
That places South West England 85th out of 719 regions with data for 2024, putting it in the top 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 West England, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 3.69 Percentage change | — |
| 1982 | 2.45 Percentage change | -33.6% |
| 1983 | 0.0886 Percentage change | -96.4% |
| 1984 | -4.52 Percentage change | -5206.9% |
| 1985 | 2.13 Percentage change | -147.2% |
| 1986 | 4.55 Percentage change | +113.2% |
| 1987 | 0.5534 Percentage change | -87.8% |
| 1988 | 2.16 Percentage change | +289.6% |
| 1989 | -7.35 Percentage change | -441.1% |
| 1990 | -11.36 Percentage change | +54.5% |
| 1991 | -1.71 Percentage change | -84.9% |
| 1992 | 2.51 Percentage change | -246.4% |
| 1993 | 2.28 Percentage change | -9.1% |
| 1994 | 1.81 Percentage change | -20.7% |
| 1995 | -8.23 Percentage change | -555.3% |
| 1996 | -4.75 Percentage change | -42.3% |
| 1997 | 0.4738 Percentage change | -110.0% |
| 1998 | 3.85 Percentage change | +713.4% |
| 1999 | 3.24 Percentage change | -16.0% |
| 2000 | 5.32 Percentage change | +64.5% |
| 2001 | -0.5874 Percentage change | -111.0% |
| 2002 | 1.06 Percentage change | -280.1% |
| 2003 | -6.05 Percentage change | -672.2% |
| 2004 | 2.57 Percentage change | -142.5% |
| 2005 | -0.4542 Percentage change | -117.7% |
| 2006 | -0.7504 Percentage change | +65.2% |
| 2007 | 0.9936 Percentage change | -232.4% |
| 2008 | 6.33 Percentage change | +537.3% |
| 2009 | 0.8276 Percentage change | -86.9% |
| 2010 | -1.11 Percentage change | -234.6% |
| 2011 | -5.15 Percentage change | +362.4% |
| 2012 | 7.07 Percentage change | -237.4% |
| 2013 | -2.5 Percentage change | -135.3% |
| 2014 | 2.71 Percentage change | -208.6% |
| 2015 | -0.0035 Percentage change | -100.1% |
| 2016 | 0.6595 Percentage change | -19133.1% |
| 2017 | 2.85 Percentage change | +331.6% |
| 2018 | -3.9 Percentage change | -237.2% |
| 2019 | 1.85 Percentage change | -147.3% |
| 2020 | -2.82 Percentage change | -253.1% |
| 2021 | 2.49 Percentage change | -188.0% |
| 2022 | -2.95 Percentage change | -218.7% |
| 2023 | 1.89 Percentage change | -164.2% |
| 2024 | 3.24 Percentage change | +71.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.4163 Percentage change | -7.35 Percentage change | 4.55 Percentage change | 9 |
| 1990s | -1.19 Percentage change | -11.36 Percentage change | 3.85 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9262 Percentage change | -6.05 Percentage change | 6.33 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.2468 Percentage change | -5.15 Percentage change | 7.07 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.3687 Percentage change | -2.95 Percentage change | 3.24 Percentage change | 5 |
Countries ranked near South West England
- 82 Canada -0.2278 Percentage change compare
- 83 Holy See -0.3239 Percentage change compare
- 84 Costa Rica -0.4173 Percentage change compare
- 85 Mayotte -0.4497 Percentage change compare
- 86 Honduras -0.4768 Percentage change compare
- 87 French Southern and Antarctic Lands -0.6273 Percentage change compare
- 88 Senegal -0.8177 Percentage change compare
More environment data for South West England
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.19 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -5.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 1.52 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 0.6533 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 12,127 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 939.23 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 375.82 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South West England?
- Exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South West England was 3.24 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 West England?
- The highest recorded value was 7.07 Percentage change in 2012.
- What is the lowest exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in South West England?
- The lowest recorded value was -11.36 Percentage change in 1990.
- How does South West England rank for exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- South West England ranks 85th out of 719 regions with data for 2024.
- Is exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South West England?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South West England 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