Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Japan
Japan: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -4.51 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Japan, 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 Japan stood at -4.51 Percentage change. That is the lowest value across all 76 years on record.
The figure is down 236.9% on the previous year and down 508.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Japan peaked at 3.92 Percentage change in 1980 and was at its lowest, -4.51 Percentage change, in 2025.
Japan ranks 118th of 191 countries 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 Japan, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.5164 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -2.3 Percentage change | -545.8% |
| 1952 | 2.28 Percentage change | -199.2% |
| 1953 | 1.19 Percentage change | -47.7% |
| 1954 | 1.84 Percentage change | +54.5% |
| 1955 | 1.95 Percentage change | +5.9% |
| 1956 | 0.3375 Percentage change | -82.7% |
| 1957 | 0.2707 Percentage change | -19.8% |
| 1958 | 1.03 Percentage change | +282.2% |
| 1959 | -0.5382 Percentage change | -152.0% |
| 1960 | 2.43 Percentage change | -552.1% |
| 1961 | -0.6904 Percentage change | -128.4% |
| 1962 | -2.14 Percentage change | +209.3% |
| 1963 | 2.9 Percentage change | -235.8% |
| 1964 | 0.3368 Percentage change | -88.4% |
| 1965 | -0.0066 Percentage change | -102.0% |
| 1966 | 1.23 Percentage change | -18667.9% |
| 1967 | 0.6147 Percentage change | -50.0% |
| 1968 | 2.37 Percentage change | +285.2% |
| 1969 | 3.16 Percentage change | +33.4% |
| 1970 | 1.7 Percentage change | -46.2% |
| 1971 | 2.84 Percentage change | +67.0% |
| 1972 | 3.76 Percentage change | +32.4% |
| 1973 | 1.49 Percentage change | -60.4% |
| 1974 | 1.34 Percentage change | -9.8% |
| 1975 | 0.9462 Percentage change | -29.5% |
| 1976 | 1.16 Percentage change | +22.7% |
| 1977 | -1.02 Percentage change | -188.2% |
| 1978 | 0.101 Percentage change | -109.9% |
| 1979 | 2.43 Percentage change | +2301.1% |
| 1980 | 3.92 Percentage change | +61.6% |
| 1981 | 0.9457 Percentage change | -75.9% |
| 1982 | 1.64 Percentage change | +72.9% |
| 1983 | 0.5055 Percentage change | -69.1% |
| 1984 | -3.62 Percentage change | -816.5% |
| 1985 | -1.8 Percentage change | -50.2% |
| 1986 | -3.87 Percentage change | +114.7% |
| 1987 | -0.8438 Percentage change | -78.2% |
| 1988 | -1.46 Percentage change | +72.8% |
| 1989 | 1.24 Percentage change | -184.8% |
| 1990 | -1.72 Percentage change | -238.9% |
| 1991 | 2.36 Percentage change | -237.5% |
| 1992 | 0.754 Percentage change | -68.1% |
| 1993 | 2.82 Percentage change | +274.1% |
| 1994 | -4.44 Percentage change | -257.4% |
| 1995 | 0.4237 Percentage change | -109.5% |
| 1996 | 0.3012 Percentage change | -28.9% |
| 1997 | -2.16 Percentage change | -815.8% |
| 1998 | 1.46 Percentage change | -167.7% |
| 1999 | -0.1724 Percentage change | -111.8% |
| 2000 | 0.6447 Percentage change | -474.0% |
| 2001 | 2.31 Percentage change | +257.5% |
| 2002 | 0.7651 Percentage change | -66.8% |
| 2003 | 2.1 Percentage change | +174.9% |
| 2004 | 2.21 Percentage change | +4.9% |
| 2005 | -2.74 Percentage change | -224.3% |
| 2006 | -0.2296 Percentage change | -91.6% |
| 2007 | -1.28 Percentage change | +456.3% |
| 2008 | 0.6841 Percentage change | -153.6% |
| 2009 | 1.54 Percentage change | +125.4% |
| 2010 | 1.63 Percentage change | +6.0% |
| 2011 | 1.31 Percentage change | -19.8% |
| 2012 | -1.88 Percentage change | -243.7% |
| 2013 | -0.569 Percentage change | -69.8% |
| 2014 | -0.2491 Percentage change | -56.2% |
| 2015 | -0.742 Percentage change | +197.9% |
| 2016 | 1.82 Percentage change | -344.6% |
| 2017 | 0.1982 Percentage change | -89.1% |
| 2018 | -0.0229 Percentage change | -111.6% |
| 2019 | 0.7374 Percentage change | -3320.0% |
| 2020 | 0.7221 Percentage change | -2.1% |
| 2021 | -0.044 Percentage change | -106.1% |
| 2022 | -0.4893 Percentage change | +1011.0% |
| 2023 | -1.64 Percentage change | +234.2% |
| 2024 | 3.3 Percentage change | -301.6% |
| 2025 | -4.51 Percentage change | -236.9% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's -4.51 Percentage change is below the median for high income countries, which is -1.98 Percentage change, 2.3× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Japan's -4.51 Percentage change is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 0.1661 Percentage change. (24 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Japan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1966 | +18667.9% | -0.0066 Percentage change | 1.23 Percentage change |
| 2019 | +3320.0% | -0.0229 Percentage change | 0.7374 Percentage change |
| 1979 | +2301.1% | 0.101 Percentage change | 2.43 Percentage change |
| 2022 | -1011.0% | -0.044 Percentage change | -0.4893 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.6595 Percentage change | -2.3 Percentage change | 2.28 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.02 Percentage change | -2.14 Percentage change | 3.16 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.47 Percentage change | -1.02 Percentage change | 3.76 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.3352 Percentage change | -3.87 Percentage change | 3.92 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.0364 Percentage change | -4.44 Percentage change | 2.82 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.6001 Percentage change | -2.74 Percentage change | 2.31 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.223 Percentage change | -1.88 Percentage change | 1.82 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.4438 Percentage change | -4.51 Percentage change | 3.3 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Japan
More environment data for Japan
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -4.8 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.358 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.86 °C (2025)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate -3.12 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual -2.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate -0.4957 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Japan?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Japan was -4.51 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 3.92 Percentage change in 1980.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.51 Percentage change in 2025.
- How does Japan rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Japan ranks 118th out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is down 508.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Japan 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.
Download this data
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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