Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in OECD Europe
OECD Europe: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -1.25 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in OECD Europe, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
OECD Europe recorded -1.25 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
The figure is down 382.3% on the previous year and down 307.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in OECD Europe peaked at 6.88 Percentage change in 1972 and was at its lowest, -4.16 Percentage change, in 2019.
OECD Europe ranks 1223rd of 3112 regions 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 OECD Europe, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -3.96 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -0.9086 Percentage change | -77.0% |
| 1952 | -0.9657 Percentage change | +6.3% |
| 1953 | -2.44 Percentage change | +152.5% |
| 1954 | -0.6433 Percentage change | -73.6% |
| 1955 | -4.01 Percentage change | +523.1% |
| 1956 | 0.234 Percentage change | -105.8% |
| 1957 | -1.24 Percentage change | -629.4% |
| 1958 | -0.2159 Percentage change | -82.6% |
| 1959 | -2.59 Percentage change | +1097.6% |
| 1960 | 1.63 Percentage change | -163.0% |
| 1961 | -1.04 Percentage change | -163.6% |
| 1962 | -1.53 Percentage change | +47.6% |
| 1963 | 2.34 Percentage change | -253.2% |
| 1964 | -1.34 Percentage change | -157.3% |
| 1965 | 3.2 Percentage change | -338.2% |
| 1966 | 2.29 Percentage change | -28.5% |
| 1967 | 0.8318 Percentage change | -63.6% |
| 1968 | 2.38 Percentage change | +185.9% |
| 1969 | 1.45 Percentage change | -38.9% |
| 1970 | 0.243 Percentage change | -83.3% |
| 1971 | 3.97 Percentage change | +1532.4% |
| 1972 | 6.88 Percentage change | +73.3% |
| 1973 | 0.5849 Percentage change | -91.5% |
| 1974 | 2.7 Percentage change | +361.1% |
| 1975 | -0.0268 Percentage change | -101.0% |
| 1976 | -0.1756 Percentage change | +554.7% |
| 1977 | 2.11 Percentage change | -1303.9% |
| 1978 | 1.29 Percentage change | -39.2% |
| 1979 | 2.31 Percentage change | +79.9% |
| 1980 | 2.64 Percentage change | +14.3% |
| 1981 | 2.01 Percentage change | -23.9% |
| 1982 | 0.4591 Percentage change | -77.2% |
| 1983 | -0.1197 Percentage change | -126.1% |
| 1984 | 1.74 Percentage change | -1549.1% |
| 1985 | 0.1972 Percentage change | -88.6% |
| 1986 | -0.3831 Percentage change | -294.3% |
| 1987 | 2.65 Percentage change | -791.2% |
| 1988 | 2.6 Percentage change | -1.8% |
| 1989 | -1.76 Percentage change | -167.7% |
| 1990 | -1.13 Percentage change | -35.6% |
| 1991 | -0.2279 Percentage change | -79.9% |
| 1992 | -1.55 Percentage change | +580.8% |
| 1993 | -1.23 Percentage change | -20.5% |
| 1994 | -2.12 Percentage change | +71.7% |
| 1995 | -1.6 Percentage change | -24.3% |
| 1996 | 1.5 Percentage change | -193.3% |
| 1997 | 0.0796 Percentage change | -94.7% |
| 1998 | 2.39 Percentage change | +2906.5% |
| 1999 | -0.0072 Percentage change | -100.3% |
| 2000 | 0.4762 Percentage change | -6741.4% |
| 2001 | -0.9648 Percentage change | -302.6% |
| 2002 | -1.03 Percentage change | +6.5% |
| 2003 | -0.4807 Percentage change | -53.2% |
| 2004 | -0.2746 Percentage change | -42.9% |
| 2005 | -1.27 Percentage change | +363.2% |
| 2006 | 0.0688 Percentage change | -105.4% |
| 2007 | 0.6715 Percentage change | +875.4% |
| 2008 | -0.3428 Percentage change | -151.1% |
| 2009 | -2.27 Percentage change | +561.4% |
| 2010 | 1.93 Percentage change | -185.3% |
| 2011 | -2.19 Percentage change | -213.5% |
| 2012 | -0.9919 Percentage change | -54.8% |
| 2013 | 0.5457 Percentage change | -155.0% |
| 2014 | 1.72 Percentage change | +216.0% |
| 2015 | 0.6014 Percentage change | -65.1% |
| 2016 | -0.527 Percentage change | -187.6% |
| 2017 | -0.7361 Percentage change | +39.7% |
| 2018 | -2.18 Percentage change | +196.3% |
| 2019 | -4.16 Percentage change | +90.8% |
| 2020 | -1.91 Percentage change | -54.1% |
| 2021 | -0.0987 Percentage change | -94.8% |
| 2022 | -2.2 Percentage change | +2131.1% |
| 2023 | -0.2173 Percentage change | -90.1% |
| 2024 | -0.2582 Percentage change | +18.8% |
| 2025 | -1.25 Percentage change | +382.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -1.67 Percentage change | -4.01 Percentage change | 0.234 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.02 Percentage change | -1.53 Percentage change | 3.2 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 1.99 Percentage change | -0.1756 Percentage change | 6.88 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 Percentage change | -1.76 Percentage change | 2.65 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.3908 Percentage change | -2.12 Percentage change | 2.39 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.5413 Percentage change | -2.27 Percentage change | 0.6715 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.5987 Percentage change | -4.16 Percentage change | 1.93 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.9888 Percentage change | -2.2 Percentage change | -0.0987 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for OECD Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -2.71 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.54 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 0.3148 Percentage change (2024)
- Land use hidden — Total area 5.66 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Cropland 1.27 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Land area 5.10 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Permanent meadows and pastures 755,136 Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Other areas 1.21 million Square kilometres (2023)
- Land use hidden — Forest 1.86 million Square kilometres (2023)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 3.91 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in OECD Europe?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in OECD Europe was -1.25 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 OECD Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 6.88 Percentage change in 1972.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in OECD Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was -4.16 Percentage change in 2019.
- How does OECD Europe rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- OECD Europe ranks 1223rd out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in OECD Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 307.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this OECD 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.
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