Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in South America
South America: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -6.52 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in South America, 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 South America stood at -6.52 Percentage change.
The figure is up 39.6% on the previous year and down 149.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in South America peaked at 4.52 Percentage change in 1985 and was at its lowest, -10.8 Percentage change, in 2024.
That places South America 47th out of 72 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 South America, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -1.91 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -1.07 Percentage change | -44.1% |
| 1952 | 0.0328 Percentage change | -103.1% |
| 1953 | 1.04 Percentage change | +3075.1% |
| 1954 | -2.83 Percentage change | -372.2% |
| 1955 | -4.49 Percentage change | +58.5% |
| 1956 | 1.86 Percentage change | -141.4% |
| 1957 | -0.5288 Percentage change | -128.4% |
| 1958 | -2.52 Percentage change | +375.9% |
| 1959 | -3.37 Percentage change | +34.0% |
| 1960 | -4.01 Percentage change | +18.9% |
| 1961 | -9.95 Percentage change | +148.1% |
| 1962 | -4.15 Percentage change | -58.3% |
| 1963 | -6.49 Percentage change | +56.4% |
| 1964 | 0.4886 Percentage change | -107.5% |
| 1965 | -1.87 Percentage change | -483.5% |
| 1966 | 1.07 Percentage change | -157.3% |
| 1967 | -0.2115 Percentage change | -119.7% |
| 1968 | -2.67 Percentage change | +1161.1% |
| 1969 | -4.67 Percentage change | +75.2% |
| 1970 | -2.97 Percentage change | -36.4% |
| 1971 | -0.4072 Percentage change | -86.3% |
| 1972 | -2.1 Percentage change | +414.7% |
| 1973 | 3.48 Percentage change | -266.1% |
| 1974 | 1.05 Percentage change | -69.9% |
| 1975 | 1.02 Percentage change | -2.4% |
| 1976 | 0.4816 Percentage change | -52.8% |
| 1977 | 1.18 Percentage change | +145.3% |
| 1978 | 2.02 Percentage change | +71.0% |
| 1979 | 1.01 Percentage change | -49.8% |
| 1980 | 0.6543 Percentage change | -35.5% |
| 1981 | -0.2775 Percentage change | -142.4% |
| 1982 | 2.41 Percentage change | -969.4% |
| 1983 | 2 Percentage change | -16.9% |
| 1984 | 2.93 Percentage change | +46.0% |
| 1985 | 4.52 Percentage change | +54.4% |
| 1986 | 4.01 Percentage change | -11.3% |
| 1987 | 0.5481 Percentage change | -86.3% |
| 1988 | -2.03 Percentage change | -471.2% |
| 1989 | 0.946 Percentage change | -146.5% |
| 1990 | 1.5 Percentage change | +58.4% |
| 1991 | 0.9835 Percentage change | -34.4% |
| 1992 | 3.25 Percentage change | +230.8% |
| 1993 | 0.596 Percentage change | -81.7% |
| 1994 | 1.55 Percentage change | +159.3% |
| 1995 | -1.26 Percentage change | -181.3% |
| 1996 | 0.1918 Percentage change | -115.3% |
| 1997 | 0.5641 Percentage change | +194.2% |
| 1998 | -0.9335 Percentage change | -265.5% |
| 1999 | -1.41 Percentage change | +51.5% |
| 2000 | 2.05 Percentage change | -244.8% |
| 2001 | 0.9718 Percentage change | -52.5% |
| 2002 | -0.9993 Percentage change | -202.8% |
| 2003 | -2.83 Percentage change | +183.3% |
| 2004 | -2.72 Percentage change | -3.8% |
| 2005 | -0.5151 Percentage change | -81.1% |
| 2006 | -2.83 Percentage change | +449.3% |
| 2007 | -5.45 Percentage change | +92.5% |
| 2008 | -1.7 Percentage change | -68.8% |
| 2009 | -3.4 Percentage change | +100.3% |
| 2010 | -2.65 Percentage change | -22.2% |
| 2011 | -2.59 Percentage change | -2.3% |
| 2012 | -5.51 Percentage change | +113.0% |
| 2013 | -4.43 Percentage change | -19.5% |
| 2014 | -1.76 Percentage change | -60.2% |
| 2015 | -2.61 Percentage change | +48.0% |
| 2016 | -4.42 Percentage change | +69.2% |
| 2017 | -2.73 Percentage change | -38.3% |
| 2018 | -3.91 Percentage change | +43.5% |
| 2019 | -6.67 Percentage change | +70.4% |
| 2020 | -7.85 Percentage change | +17.6% |
| 2021 | -8.67 Percentage change | +10.5% |
| 2022 | -8.1 Percentage change | -6.6% |
| 2023 | -9.8 Percentage change | +21.0% |
| 2024 | -10.8 Percentage change | +10.3% |
| 2025 | -6.52 Percentage change | -39.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -1.38 Percentage change | -4.49 Percentage change | 1.86 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.25 Percentage change | -9.95 Percentage change | 1.07 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4769 Percentage change | -2.97 Percentage change | 3.48 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.57 Percentage change | -2.03 Percentage change | 4.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5029 Percentage change | -1.41 Percentage change | 3.25 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.74 Percentage change | -5.45 Percentage change | 2.05 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -3.73 Percentage change | -6.67 Percentage change | -1.76 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -8.62 Percentage change | -10.8 Percentage change | -6.52 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near South America
- 44 Luxembourg -0.1872 Percentage change compare
- 45 Montenegro -0.1974 Percentage change compare
- 46 Belarus -0.1993 Percentage change compare
- 47 Chile -0.3357 Percentage change compare
- 48 Guadeloupe -0.4134 Percentage change compare
- 49 Switzerland -0.4333 Percentage change compare
- 50 Portugal -0.5127 Percentage change compare
More environment data for South America
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -4.98 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.218 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.23 °C (2025)
- Roundwood — Production 477.72 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 379.32 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, coniferous — Production 98.40 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Export value 589,290 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood — Export quantity 4.28 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Import value 18,446 1000 USD (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in South America?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in South America was -6.52 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 South America?
- The highest recorded value was 4.52 Percentage change in 1985.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in South America?
- The lowest recorded value was -10.8 Percentage change in 2024.
- How does South America rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- South America ranks 47th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 149.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South 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