Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in China (People's Republic of)
China (People's Republic of): Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -1.86 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in China (People's Republic of), 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 China (People's Republic of) stood at -1.86 Percentage change.
That represents a change of down 2,664.9% on the previous year and down 12.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in China (People's Republic of) peaked at 6.72 Percentage change in 1964 and was at its lowest, -4.55 Percentage change, in 2009.
That places China (People's Republic of) 19th 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in China (People's Republic of), year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -0.828 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 2.14 Percentage change | -358.9% |
| 1952 | 5.17 Percentage change | +141.3% |
| 1953 | 2.95 Percentage change | -43.0% |
| 1954 | 4.51 Percentage change | +53.0% |
| 1955 | 3.5 Percentage change | -22.5% |
| 1956 | -0.5396 Percentage change | -115.4% |
| 1957 | 0.0252 Percentage change | -104.7% |
| 1958 | 0.1821 Percentage change | +621.6% |
| 1959 | -2.32 Percentage change | -1376.4% |
| 1960 | -0.8267 Percentage change | -64.4% |
| 1961 | 2.32 Percentage change | -381.2% |
| 1962 | 2.53 Percentage change | +9.0% |
| 1963 | 0.8402 Percentage change | -66.8% |
| 1964 | 6.72 Percentage change | +699.4% |
| 1965 | -2.2 Percentage change | -132.7% |
| 1966 | -3.14 Percentage change | +43.0% |
| 1967 | 3.7 Percentage change | -217.8% |
| 1968 | 0.9879 Percentage change | -73.3% |
| 1969 | 0.9663 Percentage change | -2.2% |
| 1970 | 1.42 Percentage change | +47.3% |
| 1971 | 1.41 Percentage change | -1.2% |
| 1972 | 3.16 Percentage change | +125.0% |
| 1973 | 3.98 Percentage change | +25.8% |
| 1974 | 0.6888 Percentage change | -82.7% |
| 1975 | 2.3 Percentage change | +233.4% |
| 1976 | 2.09 Percentage change | -9.1% |
| 1977 | 1.5 Percentage change | -28.1% |
| 1978 | 0.8932 Percentage change | -40.5% |
| 1979 | -0.8925 Percentage change | -199.9% |
| 1980 | 0.486 Percentage change | -154.5% |
| 1981 | 1.41 Percentage change | +189.5% |
| 1982 | 1.03 Percentage change | -26.4% |
| 1983 | 1.09 Percentage change | +5.3% |
| 1984 | -1.32 Percentage change | -221.3% |
| 1985 | 0.6164 Percentage change | -146.6% |
| 1986 | -0.0937 Percentage change | -115.2% |
| 1987 | 0.3609 Percentage change | -485.2% |
| 1988 | -0.1647 Percentage change | -145.6% |
| 1989 | 0.0734 Percentage change | -144.5% |
| 1990 | 3.56 Percentage change | +4753.9% |
| 1991 | 0.7101 Percentage change | -80.1% |
| 1992 | -0.7809 Percentage change | -210.0% |
| 1993 | 2.8 Percentage change | -459.1% |
| 1994 | -1.82 Percentage change | -165.0% |
| 1995 | -0.2152 Percentage change | -88.2% |
| 1996 | 1.93 Percentage change | -996.1% |
| 1997 | -0.0503 Percentage change | -102.6% |
| 1998 | 3.12 Percentage change | -6311.2% |
| 1999 | -0.4916 Percentage change | -115.7% |
| 2000 | 1.41 Percentage change | -386.1% |
| 2001 | 0.0079 Percentage change | -99.4% |
| 2002 | -0.9447 Percentage change | -12024.9% |
| 2003 | 1.7 Percentage change | -279.6% |
| 2004 | -0.4097 Percentage change | -124.1% |
| 2005 | -0.9449 Percentage change | +130.6% |
| 2006 | -3.94 Percentage change | +316.5% |
| 2007 | -3.11 Percentage change | -20.9% |
| 2008 | -0.8917 Percentage change | -71.3% |
| 2009 | -4.55 Percentage change | +410.4% |
| 2010 | -0.0924 Percentage change | -98.0% |
| 2011 | -3.2 Percentage change | +3358.5% |
| 2012 | -0.2059 Percentage change | -93.6% |
| 2013 | -1.56 Percentage change | +656.4% |
| 2014 | -2.94 Percentage change | +88.8% |
| 2015 | -1.66 Percentage change | -43.6% |
| 2016 | 0.2738 Percentage change | -116.5% |
| 2017 | -0.8964 Percentage change | -427.4% |
| 2018 | -1.78 Percentage change | +99.1% |
| 2019 | -2.82 Percentage change | +57.9% |
| 2020 | -2.47 Percentage change | -12.5% |
| 2021 | -2.46 Percentage change | -0.0% |
| 2022 | -1.49 Percentage change | -39.7% |
| 2023 | -2.8 Percentage change | +88.4% |
| 2024 | 0.0726 Percentage change | -102.6% |
| 2025 | -1.86 Percentage change | -2664.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.48 Percentage change | -2.32 Percentage change | 5.17 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.19 Percentage change | -3.14 Percentage change | 6.72 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.65 Percentage change | -0.8925 Percentage change | 3.98 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3488 Percentage change | -1.32 Percentage change | 1.41 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8768 Percentage change | -1.82 Percentage change | 3.56 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.17 Percentage change | -4.55 Percentage change | 1.7 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.49 Percentage change | -3.2 Percentage change | 0.2738 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.83 Percentage change | -2.8 Percentage change | 0.0726 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near China (People's Republic of)
- 16 Finland 3.9 Percentage change compare
- 16 Croatia -1.13 Percentage change compare
- 17 Iceland 3.89 Percentage change compare
- 18 Nicaragua 3.64 Percentage change compare
- 19 Faroe Islands 3.37 Percentage change compare
- 20 Greece 3.36 Percentage change compare
- 21 North Korea 3.16 Percentage change compare
- 22 Martinique 3.12 Percentage change compare
More environment data for China (People's Republic of)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.78 Percentage change (2025)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 9.64 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Greenhouse gas emissions - Regions — GHG emissions from waste 387.36 million Tonnes of CO2-equivalent (2023)
- Waste treatment - Regions — Municipal waste generation 126 Kilogrammes per person (2013)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in China (People's Republic of)?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in China (People's Republic of) was -1.86 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 China (People's Republic of)?
- The highest recorded value was 6.72 Percentage change in 1964.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in China (People's Republic of)?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.55 Percentage change in 2009.
- How does China (People's Republic of) rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- China (People's Republic of) ranks 19th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in China (People's Republic of)?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this China (People's Republic of) 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