Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape
Northern Cape: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was 16.81 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape, 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 Northern Cape stood at 16.81 Percentage change.
That represents a change of up 171.6% on the previous year and up 211.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape peaked at 23.95 Percentage change in 1957 and was at its lowest, -40.73 Percentage change, in 1951.
That places Northern Cape 8th out of 2960 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
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 Cape, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 9.12 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -40.73 Percentage change | -546.8% |
| 1952 | -32.22 Percentage change | -20.9% |
| 1953 | -34.56 Percentage change | +7.3% |
| 1954 | -20.17 Percentage change | -41.6% |
| 1955 | 5.43 Percentage change | -126.9% |
| 1956 | -11.71 Percentage change | -315.6% |
| 1957 | 23.95 Percentage change | -304.6% |
| 1958 | 9.04 Percentage change | -62.2% |
| 1959 | -1.69 Percentage change | -118.7% |
| 1960 | -16.02 Percentage change | +849.8% |
| 1961 | -0.4173 Percentage change | -97.4% |
| 1962 | 10.72 Percentage change | -2669.1% |
| 1963 | 3.59 Percentage change | -66.5% |
| 1964 | -13.31 Percentage change | -470.6% |
| 1965 | -15.95 Percentage change | +19.9% |
| 1966 | -15.13 Percentage change | -5.1% |
| 1967 | 5.97 Percentage change | -139.5% |
| 1968 | 4 Percentage change | -33.0% |
| 1969 | 12.75 Percentage change | +218.4% |
| 1970 | -5.31 Percentage change | -141.6% |
| 1971 | 8.1 Percentage change | -252.5% |
| 1972 | 5.55 Percentage change | -31.5% |
| 1973 | 10.17 Percentage change | +83.3% |
| 1974 | 3.13 Percentage change | -69.2% |
| 1975 | 7.96 Percentage change | +154.4% |
| 1976 | 11.71 Percentage change | +47.2% |
| 1977 | 9.24 Percentage change | -21.1% |
| 1978 | 2.19 Percentage change | -76.2% |
| 1979 | -3.23 Percentage change | -247.0% |
| 1980 | -6.08 Percentage change | +88.6% |
| 1981 | 4.33 Percentage change | -171.2% |
| 1982 | -0.2288 Percentage change | -105.3% |
| 1983 | -12.11 Percentage change | +5190.5% |
| 1984 | 6.11 Percentage change | -150.4% |
| 1985 | -9.13 Percentage change | -249.5% |
| 1986 | 2.66 Percentage change | -129.2% |
| 1987 | 13.09 Percentage change | +391.4% |
| 1988 | 3.01 Percentage change | -77.0% |
| 1989 | 4.37 Percentage change | +45.3% |
| 1990 | -0.0789 Percentage change | -101.8% |
| 1991 | -7.59 Percentage change | +9518.9% |
| 1992 | -21.31 Percentage change | +180.7% |
| 1993 | 0.1091 Percentage change | -100.5% |
| 1994 | -1.48 Percentage change | -1458.0% |
| 1995 | 4.4 Percentage change | -396.8% |
| 1996 | 7.09 Percentage change | +61.1% |
| 1997 | 13.47 Percentage change | +90.1% |
| 1998 | -3.48 Percentage change | -125.8% |
| 1999 | -3.4 Percentage change | -2.2% |
| 2000 | 23.44 Percentage change | -788.9% |
| 2001 | 17.02 Percentage change | -27.4% |
| 2002 | -4.19 Percentage change | -124.6% |
| 2003 | -17.54 Percentage change | +318.7% |
| 2004 | -1.88 Percentage change | -89.3% |
| 2005 | -0.7837 Percentage change | -58.2% |
| 2006 | 8.1 Percentage change | -1133.7% |
| 2007 | -6.37 Percentage change | -178.7% |
| 2008 | -16.22 Percentage change | +154.4% |
| 2009 | -2.64 Percentage change | -83.7% |
| 2010 | 1.22 Percentage change | -146.0% |
| 2011 | 3.01 Percentage change | +147.3% |
| 2012 | -10.02 Percentage change | -433.0% |
| 2013 | -9.21 Percentage change | -8.1% |
| 2014 | -3.85 Percentage change | -58.2% |
| 2015 | -15.03 Percentage change | +290.5% |
| 2016 | -21.99 Percentage change | +46.3% |
| 2017 | -8.06 Percentage change | -63.3% |
| 2018 | -13.46 Percentage change | +67.0% |
| 2019 | -20.58 Percentage change | +52.9% |
| 2020 | -2.79 Percentage change | -86.4% |
| 2021 | 0.3913 Percentage change | -114.0% |
| 2022 | 6.49 Percentage change | +1558.0% |
| 2023 | -7.15 Percentage change | -210.2% |
| 2024 | -23.47 Percentage change | +228.4% |
| 2025 | 16.81 Percentage change | -171.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -9.35 Percentage change | -40.73 Percentage change | 23.95 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -2.38 Percentage change | -16.02 Percentage change | 12.75 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.95 Percentage change | -5.31 Percentage change | 11.71 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.6027 Percentage change | -12.11 Percentage change | 13.09 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.23 Percentage change | -21.31 Percentage change | 13.47 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.1063 Percentage change | -17.54 Percentage change | 23.44 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -9.8 Percentage change | -21.99 Percentage change | 3.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.62 Percentage change | -23.47 Percentage change | 16.81 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Northern Cape
- 5 New Caledonia 8.33 Percentage change compare
- 6 Panama 7.64 Percentage change compare
- 7 Philippines 7.07 Percentage change compare
- 8 San Marino 6.82 Percentage change compare
- 9 Botswana 6.49 Percentage change compare
- 10 Faroe Islands 5.94 Percentage change compare
- 11 Sri Lanka 5.49 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Northern Cape
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 18.02 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -33.5 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -16.91 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 0.1499 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 8,218 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 189.04 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 1,770 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape was 16.81 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 Cape?
- The highest recorded value was 23.95 Percentage change in 1957.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Northern Cape?
- The lowest recorded value was -40.73 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Northern Cape rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Northern Cape ranks 8th out of 2960 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Northern Cape?
- Over the last ten years it is up 211.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Northern Cape 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