Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Europe
Northern Europe: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 1.53 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Europe, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Europe is 1.53 Percentage change, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 38.3% on the previous year and down 39.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Europe peaked at 2.66 Percentage change in 1998 and was at its lowest, -6.91 Percentage change, in 1955.
That places Northern Europe 7th out of 72 groups 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 Northern Europe, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 0.3354 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -2.45 Percentage change | -830.4% |
| 1952 | 0.3394 Percentage change | -113.9% |
| 1953 | 0.3944 Percentage change | +16.2% |
| 1954 | 0.8462 Percentage change | +114.6% |
| 1955 | -6.91 Percentage change | -916.4% |
| 1956 | -0.9477 Percentage change | -86.3% |
| 1957 | 0.2241 Percentage change | -123.6% |
| 1958 | 0.6003 Percentage change | +167.9% |
| 1959 | -4.17 Percentage change | -794.8% |
| 1960 | -0.6175 Percentage change | -85.2% |
| 1961 | -0.2407 Percentage change | -61.0% |
| 1962 | 0.0019 Percentage change | -100.8% |
| 1963 | -1.63 Percentage change | -87342.1% |
| 1964 | -1.11 Percentage change | -32.0% |
| 1965 | 1.17 Percentage change | -205.9% |
| 1966 | -0.0493 Percentage change | -104.2% |
| 1967 | 0.4439 Percentage change | -1000.8% |
| 1968 | -0.6841 Percentage change | -254.1% |
| 1969 | -3.66 Percentage change | +435.2% |
| 1970 | -2.4 Percentage change | -34.5% |
| 1971 | 1.25 Percentage change | -152.1% |
| 1972 | 0.3354 Percentage change | -73.2% |
| 1973 | -0.5934 Percentage change | -276.9% |
| 1974 | 1.08 Percentage change | -282.6% |
| 1975 | -2.7 Percentage change | -349.2% |
| 1976 | -3.07 Percentage change | +13.9% |
| 1977 | 0.4353 Percentage change | -114.2% |
| 1978 | -1.79 Percentage change | -510.8% |
| 1979 | 0.8992 Percentage change | -150.3% |
| 1980 | -0.395 Percentage change | -143.9% |
| 1981 | 2.22 Percentage change | -662.0% |
| 1982 | -1.72 Percentage change | -177.7% |
| 1983 | -0.2039 Percentage change | -88.2% |
| 1984 | 0.0734 Percentage change | -136.0% |
| 1985 | 1.05 Percentage change | +1328.6% |
| 1986 | -0.6547 Percentage change | -162.4% |
| 1987 | 1.89 Percentage change | -389.2% |
| 1988 | 1.51 Percentage change | -20.3% |
| 1989 | 0.1393 Percentage change | -90.8% |
| 1990 | -0.4085 Percentage change | -393.3% |
| 1991 | -1.09 Percentage change | +167.9% |
| 1992 | -1.04 Percentage change | -5.1% |
| 1993 | -1.23 Percentage change | +18.9% |
| 1994 | -1.5 Percentage change | +21.2% |
| 1995 | -3.29 Percentage change | +119.9% |
| 1996 | -0.9966 Percentage change | -69.7% |
| 1997 | -1.27 Percentage change | +27.2% |
| 1998 | 2.66 Percentage change | -309.5% |
| 1999 | 0.6365 Percentage change | -76.0% |
| 2000 | 1.92 Percentage change | +201.8% |
| 2001 | -0.0675 Percentage change | -103.5% |
| 2002 | -1.58 Percentage change | +2238.6% |
| 2003 | -1.11 Percentage change | -29.4% |
| 2004 | 1.53 Percentage change | -237.4% |
| 2005 | 0.9612 Percentage change | -37.2% |
| 2006 | -0.3791 Percentage change | -139.4% |
| 2007 | 2.57 Percentage change | -779.0% |
| 2008 | 0.8571 Percentage change | -66.7% |
| 2009 | -1.61 Percentage change | -287.7% |
| 2010 | 0.1353 Percentage change | -108.4% |
| 2011 | -0.3772 Percentage change | -378.9% |
| 2012 | 2.44 Percentage change | -746.4% |
| 2013 | -0.2318 Percentage change | -109.5% |
| 2014 | 0.008 Percentage change | -103.4% |
| 2015 | 2.52 Percentage change | +31482.5% |
| 2016 | 2.44 Percentage change | -3.4% |
| 2017 | 2.42 Percentage change | -0.8% |
| 2018 | -4.31 Percentage change | -278.0% |
| 2019 | -0.8635 Percentage change | -79.9% |
| 2020 | 0.1991 Percentage change | -123.1% |
| 2021 | 0.002 Percentage change | -99.0% |
| 2022 | -0.5041 Percentage change | -24831.7% |
| 2023 | 0.7198 Percentage change | -242.8% |
| 2024 | 1.11 Percentage change | +54.1% |
| 2025 | 1.53 Percentage change | +38.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -1.17 Percentage change | -6.91 Percentage change | 0.8462 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.6372 Percentage change | -3.66 Percentage change | 1.17 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.655 Percentage change | -3.07 Percentage change | 1.25 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.3907 Percentage change | -1.72 Percentage change | 2.22 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.7534 Percentage change | -3.29 Percentage change | 2.66 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3096 Percentage change | -1.61 Percentage change | 2.57 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4181 Percentage change | -4.31 Percentage change | 2.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5099 Percentage change | -0.5041 Percentage change | 1.53 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Northern Europe
- 4 Mauritius 9.92 Percentage change compare
- 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
More environment data for Northern Europe
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.04 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.685 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.48 °C (2025)
- Roundwood — Production 200.58 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, non-coniferous — Production 40.72 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood, coniferous — Production 159.86 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Export value 1.86 million 1000 USD (2024)
- Roundwood — Export quantity 18.30 million m3 (2024)
- Roundwood — Import value 1.82 million 1000 USD (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Europe?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Northern Europe was 1.53 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 Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 2.66 Percentage change in 1998.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Northern Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was -6.91 Percentage change in 1955.
- How does Northern Europe rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Northern Europe ranks 7th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Northern Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 39.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Northern Europe 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