Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia
Southern Asia: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was 6.69 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Southern Asia recorded 6.69 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
That represents a change of up 80.7% on the previous year and up 196.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia peaked at 13.4 Percentage change in 1951 and was at its lowest, -7.59 Percentage change, in 1987.
That places Southern Asia 3rd out of 72 groups 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 Southern Asia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 5.56 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 13.4 Percentage change | +140.9% |
| 1952 | -0.0736 Percentage change | -100.5% |
| 1953 | 10.05 Percentage change | -13757.2% |
| 1954 | 3.72 Percentage change | -63.0% |
| 1955 | 3.37 Percentage change | -9.4% |
| 1956 | 8.94 Percentage change | +165.6% |
| 1957 | -2.3 Percentage change | -125.7% |
| 1958 | 4.31 Percentage change | -287.7% |
| 1959 | 6.54 Percentage change | +51.8% |
| 1960 | -6.73 Percentage change | -202.8% |
| 1961 | 4.49 Percentage change | -166.7% |
| 1962 | -2.47 Percentage change | -155.1% |
| 1963 | 0.3013 Percentage change | -112.2% |
| 1964 | -0.3125 Percentage change | -203.7% |
| 1965 | -3.88 Percentage change | +1140.9% |
| 1966 | -4.08 Percentage change | +5.1% |
| 1967 | 0.7775 Percentage change | -119.1% |
| 1968 | 2.03 Percentage change | +160.8% |
| 1969 | -4.27 Percentage change | -310.8% |
| 1970 | 1.88 Percentage change | -143.9% |
| 1971 | 4.97 Percentage change | +164.4% |
| 1972 | -4.93 Percentage change | -199.3% |
| 1973 | 1.31 Percentage change | -126.5% |
| 1974 | -3.64 Percentage change | -378.9% |
| 1975 | 4.31 Percentage change | -218.4% |
| 1976 | -2.12 Percentage change | -149.2% |
| 1977 | 0.8548 Percentage change | -140.3% |
| 1978 | 1.52 Percentage change | +78.2% |
| 1979 | -1.12 Percentage change | -173.6% |
| 1980 | 0.2886 Percentage change | -125.8% |
| 1981 | 4.18 Percentage change | +1348.6% |
| 1982 | -3.56 Percentage change | -185.1% |
| 1983 | 2.01 Percentage change | -156.4% |
| 1984 | -3.93 Percentage change | -296.0% |
| 1985 | -4.46 Percentage change | +13.3% |
| 1986 | -2.22 Percentage change | -50.2% |
| 1987 | -7.59 Percentage change | +241.9% |
| 1988 | -0.6011 Percentage change | -92.1% |
| 1989 | -0.7043 Percentage change | +17.2% |
| 1990 | 8.27 Percentage change | -1273.8% |
| 1991 | -1.45 Percentage change | -117.6% |
| 1992 | -1.28 Percentage change | -12.0% |
| 1993 | 1.33 Percentage change | -204.4% |
| 1994 | 1.04 Percentage change | -21.8% |
| 1995 | 0.7737 Percentage change | -25.8% |
| 1996 | 0.6485 Percentage change | -16.2% |
| 1997 | 6.49 Percentage change | +900.5% |
| 1998 | 8.44 Percentage change | +30.1% |
| 1999 | -4.21 Percentage change | -149.8% |
| 2000 | -4.29 Percentage change | +1.9% |
| 2001 | -3.01 Percentage change | -29.9% |
| 2002 | -5.24 Percentage change | +74.4% |
| 2003 | 4.82 Percentage change | -191.9% |
| 2004 | -0.6876 Percentage change | -114.3% |
| 2005 | 2.76 Percentage change | -500.9% |
| 2006 | -0.5548 Percentage change | -120.1% |
| 2007 | 2.51 Percentage change | -552.5% |
| 2008 | -0.1497 Percentage change | -106.0% |
| 2009 | -2.08 Percentage change | +1290.6% |
| 2010 | 2.73 Percentage change | -231.3% |
| 2011 | 1.71 Percentage change | -37.6% |
| 2012 | -4.15 Percentage change | -342.8% |
| 2013 | 3.26 Percentage change | -178.6% |
| 2014 | -1.55 Percentage change | -147.4% |
| 2015 | 2.25 Percentage change | -245.8% |
| 2016 | 0.2678 Percentage change | -88.1% |
| 2017 | 1.29 Percentage change | +380.5% |
| 2018 | -3.33 Percentage change | -359.0% |
| 2019 | 7.86 Percentage change | -336.0% |
| 2020 | 8.01 Percentage change | +1.9% |
| 2021 | -0.1154 Percentage change | -101.4% |
| 2022 | 2.66 Percentage change | -2406.8% |
| 2023 | 3.81 Percentage change | +43.2% |
| 2024 | 3.7 Percentage change | -2.8% |
| 2025 | 6.69 Percentage change | +80.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5.35 Percentage change | -2.3 Percentage change | 13.4 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.41 Percentage change | -6.73 Percentage change | 4.49 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.3024 Percentage change | -4.93 Percentage change | 4.97 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -1.66 Percentage change | -7.59 Percentage change | 4.18 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.01 Percentage change | -4.21 Percentage change | 8.44 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.5921 Percentage change | -5.24 Percentage change | 4.82 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.03 Percentage change | -4.15 Percentage change | 7.86 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.13 Percentage change | -0.1154 Percentage change | 8.01 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Southern Asia
- 1 India 12.52 Percentage change compare
- 2 Northern Mariana Islands 10.19 Percentage change compare
- 3 Mauritius 9.84 Percentage change compare
- 4 South Africa 8.52 Percentage change compare
- 5 New Caledonia 8.33 Percentage change compare
- 6 Panama 7.64 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Southern Asia
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.4009 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.274 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.44 °C (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 15.39 million t (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 8.45 million t (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per area of cropland 44.63 kg/ha (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per capita 13.9 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 38.89 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity 4.77 million t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia was 6.69 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 Southern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 13.4 Percentage change in 1951.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in Southern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was -7.59 Percentage change in 1987.
- How does Southern Asia rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- Southern Asia ranks 3rd out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Southern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 196.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Southern Asia 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