Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America
Northern America: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -3.25 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America is -3.25 Percentage change, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 145.6% on the previous year and down 167.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America peaked at 5.89 Percentage change in 1993 and was at its lowest, -8.83 Percentage change, in 1952.
Northern America ranks 30th of 72 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.
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -0.8554 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 0.9804 Percentage change | -214.6% |
| 1952 | -8.83 Percentage change | -1000.5% |
| 1953 | -6.36 Percentage change | -28.0% |
| 1954 | -4.39 Percentage change | -31.0% |
| 1955 | -5.28 Percentage change | +20.2% |
| 1956 | -5.76 Percentage change | +9.1% |
| 1957 | 0.5134 Percentage change | -108.9% |
| 1958 | -1.17 Percentage change | -328.3% |
| 1959 | 2.25 Percentage change | -291.7% |
| 1960 | -0.7511 Percentage change | -133.4% |
| 1961 | -3.12 Percentage change | +314.7% |
| 1962 | -1.87 Percentage change | -39.9% |
| 1963 | -6.19 Percentage change | +230.7% |
| 1964 | -5.62 Percentage change | -9.2% |
| 1965 | -1.72 Percentage change | -69.4% |
| 1966 | -6.93 Percentage change | +302.4% |
| 1967 | -3.98 Percentage change | -42.6% |
| 1968 | -2.04 Percentage change | -48.8% |
| 1969 | -1.68 Percentage change | -17.3% |
| 1970 | -1.59 Percentage change | -5.3% |
| 1971 | -2 Percentage change | +25.7% |
| 1972 | -0.0898 Percentage change | -95.5% |
| 1973 | 4.28 Percentage change | -4864.0% |
| 1974 | -1.45 Percentage change | -133.9% |
| 1975 | 0.5361 Percentage change | -137.0% |
| 1976 | -2.87 Percentage change | -636.1% |
| 1977 | -2.03 Percentage change | -29.3% |
| 1978 | -1.34 Percentage change | -34.0% |
| 1979 | -0.0672 Percentage change | -95.0% |
| 1980 | -0.7117 Percentage change | +959.8% |
| 1981 | 1.6 Percentage change | -324.9% |
| 1982 | 5.45 Percentage change | +240.3% |
| 1983 | 2.74 Percentage change | -49.6% |
| 1984 | 0.819 Percentage change | -70.1% |
| 1985 | 4.57 Percentage change | +457.8% |
| 1986 | 1.7 Percentage change | -62.8% |
| 1987 | -0.3858 Percentage change | -122.7% |
| 1988 | -5.18 Percentage change | +1241.4% |
| 1989 | -1.35 Percentage change | -73.9% |
| 1990 | -2.17 Percentage change | +60.6% |
| 1991 | -1.38 Percentage change | -36.6% |
| 1992 | 1.64 Percentage change | -218.9% |
| 1993 | 5.89 Percentage change | +259.6% |
| 1994 | -0.6948 Percentage change | -111.8% |
| 1995 | 2.15 Percentage change | -410.0% |
| 1996 | 4.03 Percentage change | +87.0% |
| 1997 | 3.83 Percentage change | -4.9% |
| 1998 | 0.2032 Percentage change | -94.7% |
| 1999 | -2.78 Percentage change | -1469.8% |
| 2000 | -3.13 Percentage change | +12.6% |
| 2001 | -2.57 Percentage change | -17.8% |
| 2002 | -4.27 Percentage change | +65.8% |
| 2003 | -1.91 Percentage change | -55.3% |
| 2004 | 1.83 Percentage change | -196.0% |
| 2005 | -0.2491 Percentage change | -113.6% |
| 2006 | -2.48 Percentage change | +894.0% |
| 2007 | -3.03 Percentage change | +22.4% |
| 2008 | -4.08 Percentage change | +34.6% |
| 2009 | -0.6513 Percentage change | -84.0% |
| 2010 | -0.1316 Percentage change | -79.8% |
| 2011 | -3.3 Percentage change | +2404.5% |
| 2012 | -7.12 Percentage change | +116.1% |
| 2013 | -0.4739 Percentage change | -93.3% |
| 2014 | -0.1845 Percentage change | -61.1% |
| 2015 | -1.22 Percentage change | +558.4% |
| 2016 | 2.21 Percentage change | -282.1% |
| 2017 | -1.36 Percentage change | -161.3% |
| 2018 | 0.6076 Percentage change | -144.8% |
| 2019 | 3.33 Percentage change | +447.3% |
| 2020 | -0.143 Percentage change | -104.3% |
| 2021 | -3 Percentage change | +2000.0% |
| 2022 | -6 Percentage change | +99.9% |
| 2023 | -6.03 Percentage change | +0.4% |
| 2024 | -1.32 Percentage change | -78.0% |
| 2025 | -3.25 Percentage change | +145.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -2.89 Percentage change | -8.83 Percentage change | 2.25 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.39 Percentage change | -6.93 Percentage change | -0.7511 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.6635 Percentage change | -2.87 Percentage change | 4.28 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9251 Percentage change | -5.18 Percentage change | 5.45 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.07 Percentage change | -2.78 Percentage change | 5.89 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -2.05 Percentage change | -4.27 Percentage change | 1.83 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.7635 Percentage change | -7.12 Percentage change | 3.33 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -3.29 Percentage change | -6.03 Percentage change | -0.143 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Northern America
- 27 Suriname 1.91 Percentage change compare
- 28 New Zealand 1.69 Percentage change compare
- 29 Niger 1.65 Percentage change compare
- 30 Thailand 1.54 Percentage change compare
- 31 Vanuatu 1.46 Percentage change compare
- 32 Indonesia 1.41 Percentage change compare
- 33 Cambodia 1.06 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Northern America
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.23 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.466 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.49 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 43.74 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 92.54 million t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use 14.64 million t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per capita 37.99 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per area of cropland 75.85 kg/ha (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per capita 13.25 kg/cap (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern America was -3.25 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 Northern America?
- The highest recorded value was 5.89 Percentage change in 1993.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Northern America?
- The lowest recorded value was -8.83 Percentage change in 1952.
- How does Northern America rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Northern America ranks 30th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Northern America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 167.7%. 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 Historical exposure to drought — Cropland 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 (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