Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 5.75 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie recorded 5.75 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
That represents a change of down 52.9% on the previous year and down 35.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie peaked at 16.96 Percentage change in 2022 and was at its lowest, -26.15 Percentage change, in 1957.
Newcastle and Lake Macquarie ranks 132nd of 3112 regions on this measure, 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 3.87 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -1.95 Percentage change | -150.4% |
| 1952 | -18.55 Percentage change | +851.2% |
| 1953 | -13.36 Percentage change | -28.0% |
| 1954 | -9.47 Percentage change | -29.2% |
| 1955 | -4.97 Percentage change | -47.5% |
| 1956 | 1.32 Percentage change | -126.7% |
| 1957 | -26.15 Percentage change | -2075.0% |
| 1958 | -10.2 Percentage change | -61.0% |
| 1959 | 14.37 Percentage change | -241.0% |
| 1960 | -5.92 Percentage change | -141.2% |
| 1961 | -7.91 Percentage change | +33.6% |
| 1962 | 0.8559 Percentage change | -110.8% |
| 1963 | 15.54 Percentage change | +1715.7% |
| 1964 | -12.04 Percentage change | -177.5% |
| 1965 | -16.11 Percentage change | +33.8% |
| 1966 | -5.22 Percentage change | -67.6% |
| 1967 | 8.34 Percentage change | -259.8% |
| 1968 | -23.78 Percentage change | -385.3% |
| 1969 | 3.02 Percentage change | -112.7% |
| 1970 | -11.59 Percentage change | -483.7% |
| 1971 | -2.7 Percentage change | -76.7% |
| 1972 | 3.84 Percentage change | -242.5% |
| 1973 | -8.85 Percentage change | -330.1% |
| 1974 | 5.94 Percentage change | -167.1% |
| 1975 | -4.15 Percentage change | -169.9% |
| 1976 | 9.63 Percentage change | -332.2% |
| 1977 | -7.55 Percentage change | -178.4% |
| 1978 | 10.27 Percentage change | -236.1% |
| 1979 | -4.61 Percentage change | -144.9% |
| 1980 | -22.59 Percentage change | +390.1% |
| 1981 | -2.5 Percentage change | -89.0% |
| 1982 | 1.02 Percentage change | -141.0% |
| 1983 | -0.0023 Percentage change | -100.2% |
| 1984 | 5.96 Percentage change | -254084.0% |
| 1985 | 7.59 Percentage change | +27.2% |
| 1986 | 0.8756 Percentage change | -88.5% |
| 1987 | 1.94 Percentage change | +121.9% |
| 1988 | 5.88 Percentage change | +202.7% |
| 1989 | 4.56 Percentage change | -22.6% |
| 1990 | 4.79 Percentage change | +5.1% |
| 1991 | -15.76 Percentage change | -429.2% |
| 1992 | 6.72 Percentage change | -142.7% |
| 1993 | -6.25 Percentage change | -193.1% |
| 1994 | -9.31 Percentage change | +48.9% |
| 1995 | -7.89 Percentage change | -15.2% |
| 1996 | -2.13 Percentage change | -73.0% |
| 1997 | 8.07 Percentage change | -478.7% |
| 1998 | 1.85 Percentage change | -77.0% |
| 1999 | 11.44 Percentage change | +518.2% |
| 2000 | -2.26 Percentage change | -119.8% |
| 2001 | 2.97 Percentage change | -231.3% |
| 2002 | -2.11 Percentage change | -170.9% |
| 2003 | -1.45 Percentage change | -31.1% |
| 2004 | -3.8 Percentage change | +162.1% |
| 2005 | -3.51 Percentage change | -7.7% |
| 2006 | -15.33 Percentage change | +336.4% |
| 2007 | -5.03 Percentage change | -67.2% |
| 2008 | 7.01 Percentage change | -239.3% |
| 2009 | -2.51 Percentage change | -135.8% |
| 2010 | 9.18 Percentage change | -465.9% |
| 2011 | 5.95 Percentage change | -35.2% |
| 2012 | -1.38 Percentage change | -123.2% |
| 2013 | 3.26 Percentage change | -336.0% |
| 2014 | -7.92 Percentage change | -342.8% |
| 2015 | 8.87 Percentage change | -212.0% |
| 2016 | -3.27 Percentage change | -136.9% |
| 2017 | -10 Percentage change | +205.6% |
| 2018 | -9.47 Percentage change | -5.4% |
| 2019 | -16.42 Percentage change | +73.5% |
| 2020 | -2.36 Percentage change | -85.6% |
| 2021 | 6.88 Percentage change | -391.2% |
| 2022 | 16.96 Percentage change | +146.6% |
| 2023 | -7.83 Percentage change | -146.2% |
| 2024 | 12.21 Percentage change | -256.0% |
| 2025 | 5.75 Percentage change | -52.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -6.51 Percentage change | -26.15 Percentage change | 14.37 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -4.32 Percentage change | -23.78 Percentage change | 15.54 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.9757 Percentage change | -11.59 Percentage change | 10.27 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2739 Percentage change | -22.59 Percentage change | 7.59 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.848 Percentage change | -15.76 Percentage change | 11.44 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -2.6 Percentage change | -15.33 Percentage change | 7.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.12 Percentage change | -16.42 Percentage change | 9.18 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.27 Percentage change | -7.83 Percentage change | 16.96 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
- 129 Rwanda -5.64 Percentage change compare
- 130 Nigeria -5.73 Percentage change compare
- 131 Argentina -5.89 Percentage change compare
- 132 Hong Kong -5.98 Percentage change compare
- 133 Georgia -6.11 Percentage change compare
- 134 Bolivia -6.2 Percentage change compare
- 135 Mali -6.69 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Newcastle and Lake Macquarie
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 9.53 Percentage change (2025)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 30.01 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie was 5.75 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 Newcastle and Lake Macquarie?
- The highest recorded value was 16.96 Percentage change in 2022.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie?
- The lowest recorded value was -26.15 Percentage change in 1957.
- How does Newcastle and Lake Macquarie rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Newcastle and Lake Macquarie ranks 132nd out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Newcastle and Lake Macquarie?
- Over the last ten years it is down 35.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Newcastle and Lake Macquarie 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