Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape
Northern Cape: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 18.02 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape, 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 Northern Cape stood at 18.02 Percentage change.
The figure is up 177.2% on the previous year and up 218.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape peaked at 24.57 Percentage change in 2000 and was at its lowest, -40.22 Percentage change, in 1951.
Northern Cape ranks 8th 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 Northern Cape, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 10.95 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -40.22 Percentage change | -467.4% |
| 1952 | -31.54 Percentage change | -21.6% |
| 1953 | -34.14 Percentage change | +8.2% |
| 1954 | -20.48 Percentage change | -40.0% |
| 1955 | 5.72 Percentage change | -127.9% |
| 1956 | -11.53 Percentage change | -301.7% |
| 1957 | 23.84 Percentage change | -306.7% |
| 1958 | 9.22 Percentage change | -61.3% |
| 1959 | -2.54 Percentage change | -127.6% |
| 1960 | -16.74 Percentage change | +558.4% |
| 1961 | -1.2 Percentage change | -92.9% |
| 1962 | 9.6 Percentage change | -902.5% |
| 1963 | 1.74 Percentage change | -81.9% |
| 1964 | -13.21 Percentage change | -860.7% |
| 1965 | -17.26 Percentage change | +30.6% |
| 1966 | -15.43 Percentage change | -10.6% |
| 1967 | 5.17 Percentage change | -133.5% |
| 1968 | 3.02 Percentage change | -41.6% |
| 1969 | 11.43 Percentage change | +278.8% |
| 1970 | -6.48 Percentage change | -156.7% |
| 1971 | 8.48 Percentage change | -230.9% |
| 1972 | 6.62 Percentage change | -22.0% |
| 1973 | 9.47 Percentage change | +43.2% |
| 1974 | 1.67 Percentage change | -82.3% |
| 1975 | 7.89 Percentage change | +371.0% |
| 1976 | 11.69 Percentage change | +48.2% |
| 1977 | 9.12 Percentage change | -21.9% |
| 1978 | 1.51 Percentage change | -83.5% |
| 1979 | -3.22 Percentage change | -313.4% |
| 1980 | -6.17 Percentage change | +91.6% |
| 1981 | 5.63 Percentage change | -191.4% |
| 1982 | -1.73 Percentage change | -130.7% |
| 1983 | -11.31 Percentage change | +554.4% |
| 1984 | 5.9 Percentage change | -152.2% |
| 1985 | -8.79 Percentage change | -249.0% |
| 1986 | 2.86 Percentage change | -132.5% |
| 1987 | 13.03 Percentage change | +355.8% |
| 1988 | 2.02 Percentage change | -84.5% |
| 1989 | 3.58 Percentage change | +77.2% |
| 1990 | -0.5006 Percentage change | -114.0% |
| 1991 | -8.6 Percentage change | +1618.9% |
| 1992 | -20.79 Percentage change | +141.7% |
| 1993 | -0.8266 Percentage change | -96.0% |
| 1994 | -1.68 Percentage change | +103.2% |
| 1995 | 6.03 Percentage change | -458.7% |
| 1996 | 6.56 Percentage change | +8.8% |
| 1997 | 11.81 Percentage change | +80.2% |
| 1998 | -4.29 Percentage change | -136.4% |
| 1999 | -3.18 Percentage change | -25.9% |
| 2000 | 24.57 Percentage change | -871.8% |
| 2001 | 17.7 Percentage change | -28.0% |
| 2002 | -4.92 Percentage change | -127.8% |
| 2003 | -17.55 Percentage change | +256.9% |
| 2004 | -2.04 Percentage change | -88.4% |
| 2005 | -1.1 Percentage change | -46.1% |
| 2006 | 8.77 Percentage change | -899.1% |
| 2007 | -6.23 Percentage change | -171.0% |
| 2008 | -16.1 Percentage change | +158.6% |
| 2009 | -1.41 Percentage change | -91.3% |
| 2010 | 2.61 Percentage change | -285.4% |
| 2011 | 2.24 Percentage change | -13.9% |
| 2012 | -8.71 Percentage change | -488.3% |
| 2013 | -8.78 Percentage change | +0.8% |
| 2014 | -2.56 Percentage change | -70.9% |
| 2015 | -15.17 Percentage change | +493.3% |
| 2016 | -21.68 Percentage change | +42.9% |
| 2017 | -6.76 Percentage change | -68.8% |
| 2018 | -12.51 Percentage change | +85.1% |
| 2019 | -20.14 Percentage change | +61.0% |
| 2020 | -4.02 Percentage change | -80.0% |
| 2021 | 0.8612 Percentage change | -121.4% |
| 2022 | 6.2 Percentage change | +619.4% |
| 2023 | -6.64 Percentage change | -207.1% |
| 2024 | -23.33 Percentage change | +251.5% |
| 2025 | 18.02 Percentage change | -177.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -9.07 Percentage change | -40.22 Percentage change | 23.84 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.29 Percentage change | -17.26 Percentage change | 11.43 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.68 Percentage change | -6.48 Percentage change | 11.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.5012 Percentage change | -11.31 Percentage change | 13.03 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.55 Percentage change | -20.79 Percentage change | 11.81 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.171 Percentage change | -17.55 Percentage change | 24.57 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -9.15 Percentage change | -21.68 Percentage change | 2.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.48 Percentage change | -23.33 Percentage change | 18.02 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Northern Cape
- 5 Northern Mariana Islands 8.23 Percentage change compare
- 6 New Caledonia 7.82 Percentage change compare
- 7 Philippines 6.85 Percentage change compare
- 8 San Marino 6.82 Percentage change compare
- 9 Botswana 6.04 Percentage change compare
- 10 Panama 5.66 Percentage change compare
- 11 South Africa 5.46 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Northern Cape
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 16.81 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -33.5 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -16.91 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 0.1499 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 8,218 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 189.04 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 1,770 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Cape was 18.02 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 Northern Cape?
- The highest recorded value was 24.57 Percentage change in 2000.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Northern Cape?
- The lowest recorded value was -40.22 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Northern Cape rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Northern Cape ranks 8th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Northern Cape?
- Over the last ten years it is up 218.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Northern Cape 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