Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Asia
Eastern Asia: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -2.3 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Asia, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Eastern Asia recorded -2.3 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
The figure is down 562.3% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Asia peaked at 6.61 Percentage change in 1964 and was at its lowest, -4.93 Percentage change, in 2009.
That places Eastern Asia 25th 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 Eastern Asia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -1.56 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 1.98 Percentage change | -226.9% |
| 1952 | 4.26 Percentage change | +114.8% |
| 1953 | 2.4 Percentage change | -43.6% |
| 1954 | 4.52 Percentage change | +88.2% |
| 1955 | 3.79 Percentage change | -16.2% |
| 1956 | 0.1138 Percentage change | -97.0% |
| 1957 | -0.3653 Percentage change | -421.1% |
| 1958 | 0.5879 Percentage change | -260.9% |
| 1959 | -1.52 Percentage change | -359.1% |
| 1960 | -0.629 Percentage change | -58.7% |
| 1961 | 2.06 Percentage change | -428.2% |
| 1962 | 2.28 Percentage change | +10.2% |
| 1963 | 0.9672 Percentage change | -57.5% |
| 1964 | 6.61 Percentage change | +583.3% |
| 1965 | -1.94 Percentage change | -129.3% |
| 1966 | -3.08 Percentage change | +59.0% |
| 1967 | 3.6 Percentage change | -217.1% |
| 1968 | 1.37 Percentage change | -62.1% |
| 1969 | 2.46 Percentage change | +80.2% |
| 1970 | 1.95 Percentage change | -21.0% |
| 1971 | 2.03 Percentage change | +4.4% |
| 1972 | 3.58 Percentage change | +76.1% |
| 1973 | 4.63 Percentage change | +29.4% |
| 1974 | 1.09 Percentage change | -76.4% |
| 1975 | 2.94 Percentage change | +169.2% |
| 1976 | 2.95 Percentage change | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 1.4 Percentage change | -52.6% |
| 1978 | 0.1733 Percentage change | -87.6% |
| 1979 | -0.7078 Percentage change | -508.4% |
| 1980 | 0.6121 Percentage change | -186.5% |
| 1981 | 1.69 Percentage change | +176.3% |
| 1982 | 0.9895 Percentage change | -41.5% |
| 1983 | 1.41 Percentage change | +43.0% |
| 1984 | -0.2486 Percentage change | -117.6% |
| 1985 | 1.28 Percentage change | -613.8% |
| 1986 | 0.0829 Percentage change | -93.5% |
| 1987 | 0.9695 Percentage change | +1069.5% |
| 1988 | 0.7876 Percentage change | -18.8% |
| 1989 | -0.103 Percentage change | -113.1% |
| 1990 | 3.55 Percentage change | -3549.9% |
| 1991 | 1.32 Percentage change | -62.8% |
| 1992 | -0.3263 Percentage change | -124.7% |
| 1993 | 3.8 Percentage change | -1264.2% |
| 1994 | -0.8364 Percentage change | -122.0% |
| 1995 | 0.2585 Percentage change | -130.9% |
| 1996 | 1.55 Percentage change | +501.3% |
| 1997 | -0.3708 Percentage change | -123.9% |
| 1998 | 3.1 Percentage change | -936.1% |
| 1999 | -0.2727 Percentage change | -108.8% |
| 2000 | 0.65 Percentage change | -338.3% |
| 2001 | -0.7144 Percentage change | -209.9% |
| 2002 | -1.85 Percentage change | +158.9% |
| 2003 | 1.41 Percentage change | -176.4% |
| 2004 | -0.8351 Percentage change | -159.1% |
| 2005 | -1.53 Percentage change | +83.4% |
| 2006 | -4.51 Percentage change | +194.4% |
| 2007 | -3.78 Percentage change | -16.3% |
| 2008 | -1.53 Percentage change | -59.5% |
| 2009 | -4.93 Percentage change | +222.5% |
| 2010 | -1.03 Percentage change | -79.1% |
| 2011 | -3.5 Percentage change | +238.8% |
| 2012 | -0.7284 Percentage change | -79.2% |
| 2013 | -1.53 Percentage change | +110.5% |
| 2014 | -3.45 Percentage change | +124.7% |
| 2015 | -2.63 Percentage change | -23.5% |
| 2016 | -0.1814 Percentage change | -93.1% |
| 2017 | -1.94 Percentage change | +969.9% |
| 2018 | -2.13 Percentage change | +9.6% |
| 2019 | -3.25 Percentage change | +52.9% |
| 2020 | -2.37 Percentage change | -27.0% |
| 2021 | -1.81 Percentage change | -23.9% |
| 2022 | -2.29 Percentage change | +26.7% |
| 2023 | -3.18 Percentage change | +39.0% |
| 2024 | 0.4976 Percentage change | -115.6% |
| 2025 | -2.3 Percentage change | -562.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 1.42 Percentage change | -1.56 Percentage change | 4.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.37 Percentage change | -3.08 Percentage change | 6.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 2 Percentage change | -0.7078 Percentage change | 4.63 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.7474 Percentage change | -0.2486 Percentage change | 1.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.18 Percentage change | -0.8364 Percentage change | 3.8 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.76 Percentage change | -4.93 Percentage change | 1.41 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.04 Percentage change | -3.5 Percentage change | -0.1814 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.91 Percentage change | -3.18 Percentage change | 0.4976 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Eastern Asia
- 22 Martinique 3.12 Percentage change compare
- 23 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 3.08 Percentage change compare
- 24 Dominica 3.05 Percentage change compare
- 25 Zimbabwe 2.93 Percentage change compare
- 26 Costa Rica 2.9 Percentage change compare
- 27 Isle of Man 2.85 Percentage change compare
- 28 Nepal 2.73 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Eastern Asia
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.309 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.98 °C (2025)
- Recovered paper — Production 98.06 million t (2024)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 137.56 million t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Export quantity 6.03 million t (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Agricultural Use 25.26 million t (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Agricultural Use 9.16 million t (2024)
- Nutrient potash K2O (total) — Use per area of cropland 65.98 kg/ha (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Asia?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Eastern Asia was -2.3 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 Eastern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 6.61 Percentage change in 1964.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Eastern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.93 Percentage change in 2009.
- How does Eastern Asia rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Eastern Asia ranks 25th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Eastern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Eastern 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