Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Asia
Asia: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -2.4 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Asia, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
In 2025, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Asia stood at -2.4 Percentage change.
That represents a change of down 440.1% on the previous year and down 47.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Asia peaked at 3.98 Percentage change in 1954 and was at its lowest, -3.35 Percentage change, in 2021.
Asia ranks 1602nd of 3112 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in Asia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -0.4855 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -0.0654 Percentage change | -86.5% |
| 1952 | 0.8723 Percentage change | -1433.8% |
| 1953 | 3.17 Percentage change | +263.3% |
| 1954 | 3.98 Percentage change | +25.6% |
| 1955 | 0.2678 Percentage change | -93.3% |
| 1956 | 1.04 Percentage change | +288.6% |
| 1957 | -0.2992 Percentage change | -128.8% |
| 1958 | 0.4865 Percentage change | -262.6% |
| 1959 | 0.8572 Percentage change | +76.2% |
| 1960 | -1.68 Percentage change | -296.4% |
| 1961 | -0.2104 Percentage change | -87.5% |
| 1962 | -0.9806 Percentage change | +366.0% |
| 1963 | -0.124 Percentage change | -87.4% |
| 1964 | 3.08 Percentage change | -2586.4% |
| 1965 | -1.58 Percentage change | -151.2% |
| 1966 | -3.09 Percentage change | +96.1% |
| 1967 | 0.5219 Percentage change | -116.9% |
| 1968 | 0.7206 Percentage change | +38.1% |
| 1969 | 1.46 Percentage change | +102.4% |
| 1970 | 0.8777 Percentage change | -39.8% |
| 1971 | 1.37 Percentage change | +55.6% |
| 1972 | 2.71 Percentage change | +98.8% |
| 1973 | 2.14 Percentage change | -21.2% |
| 1974 | 0.4236 Percentage change | -80.2% |
| 1975 | 2.22 Percentage change | +423.5% |
| 1976 | 1.81 Percentage change | -18.3% |
| 1977 | 0.85 Percentage change | -53.1% |
| 1978 | 0.6224 Percentage change | -26.8% |
| 1979 | -0.0351 Percentage change | -105.6% |
| 1980 | 1.11 Percentage change | -3255.4% |
| 1981 | 2.75 Percentage change | +148.5% |
| 1982 | 0.7984 Percentage change | -71.0% |
| 1983 | 1.04 Percentage change | +30.4% |
| 1984 | 0.12 Percentage change | -88.5% |
| 1985 | 0.863 Percentage change | +619.4% |
| 1986 | -0.3056 Percentage change | -135.4% |
| 1987 | -0.1259 Percentage change | -58.8% |
| 1988 | 1.4 Percentage change | -1213.7% |
| 1989 | 0.5871 Percentage change | -58.1% |
| 1990 | 2.35 Percentage change | +301.1% |
| 1991 | -0.6208 Percentage change | -126.4% |
| 1992 | 0.5992 Percentage change | -196.5% |
| 1993 | 2.92 Percentage change | +387.1% |
| 1994 | -0.4027 Percentage change | -113.8% |
| 1995 | 0.0213 Percentage change | -105.3% |
| 1996 | 1.51 Percentage change | +6969.5% |
| 1997 | -0.147 Percentage change | -109.7% |
| 1998 | 2.42 Percentage change | -1743.8% |
| 1999 | -1.2 Percentage change | -149.5% |
| 2000 | -0.6412 Percentage change | -46.5% |
| 2001 | -1.72 Percentage change | +169.0% |
| 2002 | -1.88 Percentage change | +9.3% |
| 2003 | 1.47 Percentage change | -178.1% |
| 2004 | -2.03 Percentage change | -237.5% |
| 2005 | -0.2827 Percentage change | -86.0% |
| 2006 | -2.83 Percentage change | +901.5% |
| 2007 | -1.92 Percentage change | -32.1% |
| 2008 | -1.53 Percentage change | -20.4% |
| 2009 | -2.71 Percentage change | +77.1% |
| 2010 | -0.5022 Percentage change | -81.5% |
| 2011 | -1.41 Percentage change | +181.4% |
| 2012 | -1.66 Percentage change | +17.8% |
| 2013 | -0.4863 Percentage change | -70.8% |
| 2014 | -2.49 Percentage change | +412.6% |
| 2015 | -1.63 Percentage change | -34.7% |
| 2016 | 0.9765 Percentage change | -160.0% |
| 2017 | -0.4421 Percentage change | -145.3% |
| 2018 | -0.8761 Percentage change | +98.2% |
| 2019 | -0.9189 Percentage change | +4.9% |
| 2020 | -0.8458 Percentage change | -7.9% |
| 2021 | -3.35 Percentage change | +296.2% |
| 2022 | -1.34 Percentage change | -60.0% |
| 2023 | -2.05 Percentage change | +52.6% |
| 2024 | 0.7054 Percentage change | -134.5% |
| 2025 | -2.4 Percentage change | -440.1% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Asia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +6969.5% | 0.0213 Percentage change | 1.51 Percentage change |
| 1980 | +3255.4% | -0.0351 Percentage change | 1.11 Percentage change |
| 1964 | +2586.4% | -0.124 Percentage change | 3.08 Percentage change |
| 1998 | +1743.8% | -0.147 Percentage change | 2.42 Percentage change |
| 1952 | +1433.8% | -0.0654 Percentage change | 0.8723 Percentage change |
| 1988 | +1213.7% | -0.1259 Percentage change | 1.4 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.9824 Percentage change | -0.4855 Percentage change | 3.98 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.1886 Percentage change | -3.09 Percentage change | 3.08 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.3 Percentage change | -0.0351 Percentage change | 2.71 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8241 Percentage change | -0.3056 Percentage change | 2.75 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.7451 Percentage change | -1.2 Percentage change | 2.92 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.41 Percentage change | -2.83 Percentage change | 1.47 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.9448 Percentage change | -2.49 Percentage change | 0.9765 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.55 Percentage change | -3.35 Percentage change | 0.7054 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for Asia
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 0.4646 Percentage change (2025)
- Temperature change 1.83 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.229 °C (2025)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs, non-coniferous — Production 213.39 million m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, coniferous — Production 80.29 million m3 (2024)
- Industrial roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 400.22 million m3 (2024)
- Sawlogs and veneer logs — Production 257.46 million m3 (2024)
- Wood charcoal — Production 10.14 million t (2024)
- Other industrial roundwood, non-coniferous (production) — Production 66.09 million m3 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Asia?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Asia was -2.4 Percentage change in 2025, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 3.98 Percentage change in 1954.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was -3.35 Percentage change in 2021.
- How does Asia rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Asia ranks 1602nd out of 3112 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 47.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Asia data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Historical exposure to drought — Land 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