Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy
Italy: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was 2.47 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
In 2025, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy stood at 2.47 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 201.8% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy peaked at 15.63 Percentage change in 1972 and was at its lowest, -8.8 Percentage change, in 2017.
Italy ranks 23rd of 168 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -4.36 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 4.09 Percentage change | -193.8% |
| 1952 | -4.41 Percentage change | -207.6% |
| 1953 | 0.9499 Percentage change | -121.6% |
| 1954 | 0.5978 Percentage change | -37.1% |
| 1955 | 3.59 Percentage change | +499.7% |
| 1956 | 2.6 Percentage change | -27.5% |
| 1957 | 1.27 Percentage change | -51.3% |
| 1958 | -2.88 Percentage change | -327.1% |
| 1959 | 7.76 Percentage change | -369.5% |
| 1960 | 2.89 Percentage change | -62.7% |
| 1961 | -6.93 Percentage change | -339.8% |
| 1962 | 1.06 Percentage change | -115.3% |
| 1963 | 7.65 Percentage change | +619.2% |
| 1964 | 7.15 Percentage change | -6.5% |
| 1965 | 3.88 Percentage change | -45.8% |
| 1966 | 10 Percentage change | +157.9% |
| 1967 | 2.72 Percentage change | -72.8% |
| 1968 | 4.18 Percentage change | +53.4% |
| 1969 | 4.67 Percentage change | +11.9% |
| 1970 | 2.53 Percentage change | -45.9% |
| 1971 | 8.18 Percentage change | +223.6% |
| 1972 | 15.63 Percentage change | +91.2% |
| 1973 | 8.36 Percentage change | -46.5% |
| 1974 | 10.96 Percentage change | +31.1% |
| 1975 | 0.3099 Percentage change | -97.2% |
| 1976 | 8.93 Percentage change | +2780.3% |
| 1977 | 5.17 Percentage change | -42.1% |
| 1978 | 5.45 Percentage change | +5.5% |
| 1979 | 3.88 Percentage change | -28.8% |
| 1980 | 5.03 Percentage change | +29.8% |
| 1981 | 1.01 Percentage change | -80.0% |
| 1982 | 2.46 Percentage change | +143.7% |
| 1983 | 0.4596 Percentage change | -81.3% |
| 1984 | 5.26 Percentage change | +1045.0% |
| 1985 | -2.84 Percentage change | -153.9% |
| 1986 | 1.98 Percentage change | -169.9% |
| 1987 | 0.4174 Percentage change | -79.0% |
| 1988 | -0.4047 Percentage change | -196.9% |
| 1989 | -4.21 Percentage change | +940.7% |
| 1990 | -6.6 Percentage change | +56.7% |
| 1991 | 1.61 Percentage change | -124.5% |
| 1992 | -1.8 Percentage change | -211.4% |
| 1993 | -3.94 Percentage change | +119.4% |
| 1994 | -7.22 Percentage change | +83.2% |
| 1995 | 0.9257 Percentage change | -112.8% |
| 1996 | 6.29 Percentage change | +579.3% |
| 1997 | -2.99 Percentage change | -147.5% |
| 1998 | 0.5076 Percentage change | -117.0% |
| 1999 | -0.8089 Percentage change | -259.4% |
| 2000 | -2.79 Percentage change | +244.9% |
| 2001 | -3.05 Percentage change | +9.4% |
| 2002 | 3.19 Percentage change | -204.5% |
| 2003 | -2.2 Percentage change | -169.1% |
| 2004 | 4 Percentage change | -281.8% |
| 2005 | 1.98 Percentage change | -50.6% |
| 2006 | -1.77 Percentage change | -189.6% |
| 2007 | -0.3084 Percentage change | -82.6% |
| 2008 | -0.3654 Percentage change | +18.5% |
| 2009 | 4.24 Percentage change | -1259.9% |
| 2010 | 6.97 Percentage change | +64.6% |
| 2011 | -0.7321 Percentage change | -110.5% |
| 2012 | -1.09 Percentage change | +48.7% |
| 2013 | 4.35 Percentage change | -499.9% |
| 2014 | 8.04 Percentage change | +84.6% |
| 2015 | 2.28 Percentage change | -71.6% |
| 2016 | -0.6453 Percentage change | -128.3% |
| 2017 | -8.8 Percentage change | +1263.8% |
| 2018 | 2.53 Percentage change | -128.8% |
| 2019 | -0.1685 Percentage change | -106.6% |
| 2020 | -0.34 Percentage change | +101.8% |
| 2021 | -3.94 Percentage change | +1059.3% |
| 2022 | -2.77 Percentage change | -29.8% |
| 2023 | 2.28 Percentage change | -182.6% |
| 2024 | -2.43 Percentage change | -206.5% |
| 2025 | 2.47 Percentage change | -201.8% |
Italy compared with similar countries
- Italy's 2.47 Percentage change is above the median for high income countries, which is -2.55 Percentage change. (55 countries reporting)
- Italy's 2.47 Percentage change is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is -2.67 Percentage change. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | +2780.3% | 0.3099 Percentage change | 8.93 Percentage change |
| 2009 | +1259.9% | -0.3654 Percentage change | 4.24 Percentage change |
| 2017 | -1263.8% | -0.6453 Percentage change | -8.8 Percentage change |
| 1984 | +1045.0% | 0.4596 Percentage change | 5.26 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.9204 Percentage change | -4.41 Percentage change | 7.76 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.73 Percentage change | -6.93 Percentage change | 10 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.94 Percentage change | 0.3099 Percentage change | 15.63 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9166 Percentage change | -4.21 Percentage change | 5.26 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.4 Percentage change | -7.22 Percentage change | 6.29 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.2917 Percentage change | -3.05 Percentage change | 4.24 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.27 Percentage change | -8.8 Percentage change | 8.04 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.7867 Percentage change | -3.94 Percentage change | 2.47 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Italy
- 20 Isle of Man 2.92 Percentage change compare
- 21 North Korea 2.89 Percentage change compare
- 22 Costa Rica 2.71 Percentage change compare
- 24 Nepal 2.41 Percentage change compare
- 25 Papua New Guinea 2.24 Percentage change compare
- 26 Ireland 2.17 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Italy
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.324 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.18 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 6.1 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -1.94 % 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 -0.2257 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Italy was 2.47 Percentage change in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Italy?
- The highest recorded value was 15.63 Percentage change in 1972.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Italy?
- The lowest recorded value was -8.8 Percentage change in 2017.
- How does Italy rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Italy ranks 23rd out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Italy?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Italy data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The dataset provides annual anomalies in land and cropland soil moisture content of the top soil layer (0 to 7 cm) 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 1981-2024 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 based on the ERA5-Land reanalysis dataset. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org