Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in KwaZulu-Natal
KwaZulu-Natal: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 11.24 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in KwaZulu-Natal, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
KwaZulu-Natal recorded 11.24 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
The figure is up 153.8% on the previous year and up 180.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in KwaZulu-Natal peaked at 27.85 Percentage change in 1974 and was at its lowest, -41.75 Percentage change, in 1951.
That places KwaZulu-Natal 37th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
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 KwaZulu-Natal, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.02 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -41.75 Percentage change | -1139.8% |
| 1952 | -37.37 Percentage change | -10.5% |
| 1953 | -38.74 Percentage change | +3.7% |
| 1954 | -27.13 Percentage change | -30.0% |
| 1955 | 12.95 Percentage change | -147.7% |
| 1956 | -9.02 Percentage change | -169.7% |
| 1957 | 24.2 Percentage change | -368.1% |
| 1958 | -3.78 Percentage change | -115.6% |
| 1959 | 4.64 Percentage change | -222.8% |
| 1960 | -2.18 Percentage change | -146.9% |
| 1961 | 9.9 Percentage change | -554.9% |
| 1962 | 3.67 Percentage change | -63.0% |
| 1963 | 11.21 Percentage change | +205.8% |
| 1964 | -9.96 Percentage change | -188.9% |
| 1965 | -14.48 Percentage change | +45.3% |
| 1966 | -20.97 Percentage change | +44.9% |
| 1967 | 11.39 Percentage change | -154.3% |
| 1968 | -17.29 Percentage change | -251.8% |
| 1969 | -2.81 Percentage change | -83.8% |
| 1970 | -2.05 Percentage change | -27.0% |
| 1971 | -2.83 Percentage change | +38.2% |
| 1972 | -5.46 Percentage change | +92.8% |
| 1973 | -0.8489 Percentage change | -84.5% |
| 1974 | 27.85 Percentage change | -3381.0% |
| 1975 | -0.5088 Percentage change | -101.8% |
| 1976 | 23.87 Percentage change | -4791.2% |
| 1977 | 8.96 Percentage change | -62.4% |
| 1978 | -0.5573 Percentage change | -106.2% |
| 1979 | -4.72 Percentage change | +747.4% |
| 1980 | -11.64 Percentage change | +146.4% |
| 1981 | 2.7 Percentage change | -123.2% |
| 1982 | -1.22 Percentage change | -145.2% |
| 1983 | -10.83 Percentage change | +788.0% |
| 1984 | 6.2 Percentage change | -157.2% |
| 1985 | -5.88 Percentage change | -194.9% |
| 1986 | 2.73 Percentage change | -146.4% |
| 1987 | 7.08 Percentage change | +159.6% |
| 1988 | 17.69 Percentage change | +149.8% |
| 1989 | 16.66 Percentage change | -5.8% |
| 1990 | -2.37 Percentage change | -114.2% |
| 1991 | -4.65 Percentage change | +95.9% |
| 1992 | -15.04 Percentage change | +223.5% |
| 1993 | -9.35 Percentage change | -37.8% |
| 1994 | -2.99 Percentage change | -68.1% |
| 1995 | -8.16 Percentage change | +173.2% |
| 1996 | 9.08 Percentage change | -211.3% |
| 1997 | 20.45 Percentage change | +125.2% |
| 1998 | -1.9 Percentage change | -109.3% |
| 1999 | -8.14 Percentage change | +329.2% |
| 2000 | 12.86 Percentage change | -257.9% |
| 2001 | 22.78 Percentage change | +77.1% |
| 2002 | 4.48 Percentage change | -80.3% |
| 2003 | -20.14 Percentage change | -549.1% |
| 2004 | -9 Percentage change | -55.3% |
| 2005 | 4.15 Percentage change | -146.2% |
| 2006 | 10.77 Percentage change | +159.4% |
| 2007 | -3.59 Percentage change | -133.3% |
| 2008 | -19.42 Percentage change | +440.9% |
| 2009 | -4.11 Percentage change | -78.8% |
| 2010 | -10.84 Percentage change | +163.5% |
| 2011 | 7.8 Percentage change | -172.0% |
| 2012 | -10.14 Percentage change | -230.0% |
| 2013 | -17.1 Percentage change | +68.6% |
| 2014 | -14.62 Percentage change | -14.5% |
| 2015 | -13.99 Percentage change | -4.3% |
| 2016 | -21.23 Percentage change | +51.8% |
| 2017 | -23.63 Percentage change | +11.3% |
| 2018 | -12.83 Percentage change | -45.7% |
| 2019 | -26.48 Percentage change | +106.5% |
| 2020 | 1.89 Percentage change | -107.2% |
| 2021 | 10.51 Percentage change | +455.1% |
| 2022 | 7.88 Percentage change | -25.0% |
| 2023 | -0.3848 Percentage change | -104.9% |
| 2024 | -20.9 Percentage change | +5331.0% |
| 2025 | 11.24 Percentage change | -153.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -11.2 Percentage change | -41.75 Percentage change | 24.2 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.15 Percentage change | -20.97 Percentage change | 11.39 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.37 Percentage change | -5.46 Percentage change | 27.85 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 2.35 Percentage change | -11.64 Percentage change | 17.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -2.31 Percentage change | -15.04 Percentage change | 20.45 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.1206 Percentage change | -20.14 Percentage change | 22.78 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -14.3 Percentage change | -26.48 Percentage change | 7.8 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.71 Percentage change | -20.9 Percentage change | 11.24 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near KwaZulu-Natal
- 34 Papua New Guinea 1.56 Percentage change compare
- 35 French Guiana 1.45 Percentage change compare
- 36 French Southern and Antarctic Lands 1.44 Percentage change compare
- 37 Thailand 1.44 Percentage change compare
- 38 Suriname 1.4 Percentage change compare
- 39 Indonesia 1.36 Percentage change compare
- 40 Sweden 1.1 Percentage change compare
More environment data for KwaZulu-Natal
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 12.37 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -19.88 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -15.2 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 0.5781 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 50,783 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 288.86 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 577.99 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in KwaZulu-Natal?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in KwaZulu-Natal was 11.24 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 KwaZulu-Natal?
- The highest recorded value was 27.85 Percentage change in 1974.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in KwaZulu-Natal?
- The lowest recorded value was -41.75 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does KwaZulu-Natal rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- KwaZulu-Natal ranks 37th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in KwaZulu-Natal?
- Over the last ten years it is up 180.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this KwaZulu-Natal 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