Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in United States
United States: Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly was -2.16 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly in United States, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
United States recorded -2.16 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and down 84.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in United States peaked at 6.64 Percentage change in 1982 and was at its lowest, -10.08 Percentage change, in 1952.
That places United States 70th out of 168 countries 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 United States, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -0.972 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -0.173 Percentage change | -82.2% |
| 1952 | -10.08 Percentage change | +5724.6% |
| 1953 | -8.19 Percentage change | -18.7% |
| 1954 | -6.9 Percentage change | -15.7% |
| 1955 | -6.66 Percentage change | -3.5% |
| 1956 | -7.57 Percentage change | +13.7% |
| 1957 | 0.9023 Percentage change | -111.9% |
| 1958 | -1.21 Percentage change | -233.9% |
| 1959 | 1.91 Percentage change | -257.7% |
| 1960 | -0.6562 Percentage change | -134.4% |
| 1961 | -3.34 Percentage change | +408.6% |
| 1962 | -1.9 Percentage change | -43.0% |
| 1963 | -6.65 Percentage change | +249.8% |
| 1964 | -6.13 Percentage change | -7.8% |
| 1965 | -2.05 Percentage change | -66.5% |
| 1966 | -7.52 Percentage change | +266.2% |
| 1967 | -2.84 Percentage change | -62.2% |
| 1968 | -3.15 Percentage change | +10.9% |
| 1969 | -2.13 Percentage change | -32.3% |
| 1970 | -2.24 Percentage change | +4.7% |
| 1971 | -1.31 Percentage change | -41.3% |
| 1972 | 0.5488 Percentage change | -141.8% |
| 1973 | 4.59 Percentage change | +736.7% |
| 1974 | -1.53 Percentage change | -133.3% |
| 1975 | 0.5213 Percentage change | -134.1% |
| 1976 | -3.47 Percentage change | -764.7% |
| 1977 | -2.02 Percentage change | -41.9% |
| 1978 | -1.91 Percentage change | -5.2% |
| 1979 | 1.16 Percentage change | -160.6% |
| 1980 | -0.7619 Percentage change | -165.9% |
| 1981 | 1.24 Percentage change | -262.3% |
| 1982 | 6.64 Percentage change | +437.0% |
| 1983 | 3.78 Percentage change | -43.1% |
| 1984 | 1.77 Percentage change | -53.1% |
| 1985 | 5.89 Percentage change | +231.9% |
| 1986 | 1.2 Percentage change | -79.6% |
| 1987 | 0.2499 Percentage change | -79.2% |
| 1988 | -4.61 Percentage change | -1943.6% |
| 1989 | -1.02 Percentage change | -77.8% |
| 1990 | -1.91 Percentage change | +86.8% |
| 1991 | -1.14 Percentage change | -40.5% |
| 1992 | 2.3 Percentage change | -302.3% |
| 1993 | 5.47 Percentage change | +137.8% |
| 1994 | -0.6938 Percentage change | -112.7% |
| 1995 | 2.91 Percentage change | -518.9% |
| 1996 | 4.13 Percentage change | +42.1% |
| 1997 | 4.16 Percentage change | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 0.7138 Percentage change | -82.8% |
| 1999 | -3.84 Percentage change | -637.5% |
| 2000 | -3.88 Percentage change | +1.0% |
| 2001 | -1.9 Percentage change | -50.9% |
| 2002 | -5.38 Percentage change | +182.6% |
| 2003 | -1.8 Percentage change | -66.5% |
| 2004 | 1.69 Percentage change | -193.7% |
| 2005 | -2.08 Percentage change | -223.4% |
| 2006 | -4.2 Percentage change | +101.2% |
| 2007 | -3.65 Percentage change | -13.0% |
| 2008 | -4.55 Percentage change | +24.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0473 Percentage change | -101.0% |
| 2010 | -1.53 Percentage change | -3336.8% |
| 2011 | -4.41 Percentage change | +188.1% |
| 2012 | -8.98 Percentage change | +103.7% |
| 2013 | -0.9298 Percentage change | -89.6% |
| 2014 | -1.4 Percentage change | +50.8% |
| 2015 | -1.17 Percentage change | -16.7% |
| 2016 | 1.06 Percentage change | -190.9% |
| 2017 | -1.52 Percentage change | -243.4% |
| 2018 | 0.9228 Percentage change | -160.5% |
| 2019 | 3.69 Percentage change | +299.6% |
| 2020 | -0.5539 Percentage change | -115.0% |
| 2021 | -1.56 Percentage change | +181.4% |
| 2022 | -6.95 Percentage change | +345.7% |
| 2023 | -5.5 Percentage change | -20.8% |
| 2024 | -2.11 Percentage change | -61.6% |
| 2025 | -2.16 Percentage change | +2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -3.89 Percentage change | -10.08 Percentage change | 1.91 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.64 Percentage change | -7.52 Percentage change | -0.6562 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.5647 Percentage change | -3.47 Percentage change | 4.59 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.44 Percentage change | -4.61 Percentage change | 6.64 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.21 Percentage change | -3.84 Percentage change | 5.47 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -2.57 Percentage change | -5.38 Percentage change | 1.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.43 Percentage change | -8.98 Percentage change | 3.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -3.14 Percentage change | -6.95 Percentage change | -0.5539 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near United States
More environment data for United States
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.64 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -2.91 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.62 Percentage change (2024)
- Heating Degree Days 6,193 (2024)
- Cooling Degree Days 1,199 (2024)
- Total fisheries production 4.68 million metric tons (2024)
- Capture fisheries production 4.21 million metric tons (2024)
- Aquaculture production 467,617 metric tons (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Waste 9.94 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Nitrous oxide (N2O) emissions from Transport (Energy) 20.68 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in United States?
- Historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly in United States was -2.16 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 6.64 Percentage change in 1982.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was -10.08 Percentage change in 1952.
- How does United States rank for historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly?
- United States ranks 70th out of 168 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — cropland soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is down 84.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this United States 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
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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