Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Heard Island and McDonald Islands
Heard Island and McDonald Islands: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -3.84 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Heard Island and McDonald Islands, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Heard Island and McDonald Islands recorded -3.84 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 227.1% on the previous year and up 36.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Heard Island and McDonald Islands peaked at 5.12 Percentage change in 1963 and was at its lowest, -10.74 Percentage change, in 1957.
That places Heard Island and McDonald Islands 105th out of 191 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 — Land soil moisture anomaly in Heard Island and McDonald Islands, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -0.357 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 0.0511 Percentage change | -114.3% |
| 1952 | -6.83 Percentage change | -13464.5% |
| 1953 | -8.33 Percentage change | +22.0% |
| 1954 | -3.91 Percentage change | -53.1% |
| 1955 | -2.29 Percentage change | -41.4% |
| 1956 | -1.25 Percentage change | -45.4% |
| 1957 | -10.74 Percentage change | +759.5% |
| 1958 | -2.29 Percentage change | -78.7% |
| 1959 | -9.41 Percentage change | +311.2% |
| 1960 | -1.72 Percentage change | -81.7% |
| 1961 | 0.8301 Percentage change | -148.2% |
| 1962 | -4.22 Percentage change | -608.6% |
| 1963 | 5.12 Percentage change | -221.3% |
| 1964 | -6.44 Percentage change | -225.8% |
| 1965 | -2.48 Percentage change | -61.6% |
| 1966 | -0.0219 Percentage change | -99.1% |
| 1967 | -6.99 Percentage change | +31789.1% |
| 1968 | 3.29 Percentage change | -147.0% |
| 1969 | -0.9666 Percentage change | -129.4% |
| 1970 | 0.46 Percentage change | -147.6% |
| 1971 | -5.66 Percentage change | -1330.5% |
| 1972 | -4.68 Percentage change | -17.3% |
| 1973 | -2.6 Percentage change | -44.4% |
| 1974 | -0.9946 Percentage change | -61.8% |
| 1975 | 2.56 Percentage change | -357.6% |
| 1976 | -7.31 Percentage change | -385.1% |
| 1977 | -2.22 Percentage change | -69.6% |
| 1978 | -2.02 Percentage change | -8.8% |
| 1979 | 2.94 Percentage change | -245.2% |
| 1980 | -9.23 Percentage change | -414.0% |
| 1981 | 1.87 Percentage change | -120.2% |
| 1982 | -0.447 Percentage change | -123.9% |
| 1983 | 2.56 Percentage change | -672.1% |
| 1984 | -5.35 Percentage change | -309.1% |
| 1985 | 1.35 Percentage change | -125.2% |
| 1986 | -4.76 Percentage change | -453.9% |
| 1987 | 0.9306 Percentage change | -119.5% |
| 1988 | -5.34 Percentage change | -673.8% |
| 1989 | -1.42 Percentage change | -73.3% |
| 1990 | 0.2508 Percentage change | -117.6% |
| 1991 | 3.61 Percentage change | +1337.4% |
| 1992 | -0.9257 Percentage change | -125.7% |
| 1993 | 2.79 Percentage change | -400.9% |
| 1994 | 2.84 Percentage change | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 0.5317 Percentage change | -81.3% |
| 1996 | -1.64 Percentage change | -408.4% |
| 1997 | -0.8617 Percentage change | -47.4% |
| 1998 | 2.08 Percentage change | -340.9% |
| 1999 | -4.71 Percentage change | -326.9% |
| 2000 | 2.28 Percentage change | -148.5% |
| 2001 | 1.46 Percentage change | -35.9% |
| 2002 | 4.9 Percentage change | +235.3% |
| 2003 | 1.38 Percentage change | -71.8% |
| 2004 | -1.09 Percentage change | -178.9% |
| 2005 | -0.8037 Percentage change | -26.2% |
| 2006 | 4.03 Percentage change | -601.0% |
| 2007 | -0.9218 Percentage change | -122.9% |
| 2008 | -2.8 Percentage change | +203.6% |
| 2009 | -1.41 Percentage change | -49.8% |
| 2010 | -0.3746 Percentage change | -73.4% |
| 2011 | -4.79 Percentage change | +1179.5% |
| 2012 | 0.553 Percentage change | -111.5% |
| 2013 | -5.24 Percentage change | -1046.7% |
| 2014 | -0.9212 Percentage change | -82.4% |
| 2015 | -6 Percentage change | +551.7% |
| 2016 | -6.99 Percentage change | +16.4% |
| 2017 | -2.31 Percentage change | -67.0% |
| 2018 | 0.6766 Percentage change | -129.3% |
| 2019 | -0.5459 Percentage change | -180.7% |
| 2020 | 1.68 Percentage change | -407.6% |
| 2021 | 2.19 Percentage change | +30.6% |
| 2022 | -4.1 Percentage change | -287.0% |
| 2023 | 2 Percentage change | -148.8% |
| 2024 | 3.02 Percentage change | +51.0% |
| 2025 | -3.84 Percentage change | -227.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -4.54 Percentage change | -10.74 Percentage change | 0.0511 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.36 Percentage change | -6.99 Percentage change | 5.12 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -1.95 Percentage change | -7.31 Percentage change | 2.94 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -1.98 Percentage change | -9.23 Percentage change | 2.56 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.3958 Percentage change | -4.71 Percentage change | 3.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.7038 Percentage change | -2.8 Percentage change | 4.9 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.59 Percentage change | -6.99 Percentage change | 0.6766 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.1586 Percentage change | -4.1 Percentage change | 3.02 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- 102 Mozambique -3.62 Percentage change compare
- 103 Belize -3.66 Percentage change compare
- 104 Bosnia and Herzegovina -3.8 Percentage change compare
- 106 Burundi -3.89 Percentage change compare
- 107 Macau, China -3.98 Percentage change compare
- 108 Germany -4.12 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Heard Island and McDonald Islands
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -1.14 Percentage change (2024)
- Grassland — Area from CCI_LC 1.02 1000 ha (2022)
- Mangroves — Area from CCI_LC 0 1000 ha (2022)
- Tree-covered areas — Area from CCI_LC 0 1000 ha (2022)
- Shrub-covered areas — Area from CCI_LC 0 1000 ha (2022)
- Shrubs and/or herbaceous vegetation, aquatic or regularly flooded 0 1000 ha (2022)
- Permanent snow and glaciers — Area from CCI_LC 24.99 1000 ha (2022)
- Inland water bodies — Area from CCI_LC 7.63 1000 ha (2022)
- Sparsely natural vegetated areas — Area from CCI_LC 7.63 1000 ha (2022)
- Terrestrial barren land — Area from CCI_LC 0 1000 ha (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Heard Island and McDonald Islands?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Heard Island and McDonald Islands was -3.84 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 Heard Island and McDonald Islands?
- The highest recorded value was 5.12 Percentage change in 1963.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Heard Island and McDonald Islands?
- The lowest recorded value was -10.74 Percentage change in 1957.
- How does Heard Island and McDonald Islands rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Heard Island and McDonald Islands ranks 105th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Heard Island and McDonald Islands?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Heard Island and McDonald Islands 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