Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America
South and Central America: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -4.93 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America, 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 South and Central America stood at -4.93 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 47.3% on the previous year and down 125.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America peaked at 3.78 Percentage change in 1985 and was at its lowest, -9.35 Percentage change, in 2024.
That places South and Central America 2215th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025, putting it 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 South and Central America, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -1.92 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -1.39 Percentage change | -27.8% |
| 1952 | -1.74 Percentage change | +25.2% |
| 1953 | -0.9266 Percentage change | -46.7% |
| 1954 | -1.75 Percentage change | +88.5% |
| 1955 | -2.53 Percentage change | +45.0% |
| 1956 | 1.23 Percentage change | -148.7% |
| 1957 | -2.81 Percentage change | -327.9% |
| 1958 | -1.78 Percentage change | -36.4% |
| 1959 | -2.7 Percentage change | +51.0% |
| 1960 | -3.6 Percentage change | +33.4% |
| 1961 | -8.46 Percentage change | +135.1% |
| 1962 | -4.38 Percentage change | -48.2% |
| 1963 | -5.75 Percentage change | +31.1% |
| 1964 | -2.43 Percentage change | -57.8% |
| 1965 | -4.01 Percentage change | +65.4% |
| 1966 | -0.9581 Percentage change | -76.1% |
| 1967 | -1.11 Percentage change | +15.5% |
| 1968 | -2.37 Percentage change | +114.4% |
| 1969 | -3.81 Percentage change | +60.5% |
| 1970 | -2.43 Percentage change | -36.2% |
| 1971 | -0.1941 Percentage change | -92.0% |
| 1972 | -1.12 Percentage change | +479.5% |
| 1973 | 2.65 Percentage change | -335.7% |
| 1974 | 0.8727 Percentage change | -67.1% |
| 1975 | 1.06 Percentage change | +21.2% |
| 1976 | 0.0754 Percentage change | -92.9% |
| 1977 | 0.7504 Percentage change | +895.7% |
| 1978 | 2.25 Percentage change | +199.3% |
| 1979 | 0.1987 Percentage change | -91.2% |
| 1980 | 0.352 Percentage change | +77.2% |
| 1981 | 0.7161 Percentage change | +103.4% |
| 1982 | 1.71 Percentage change | +138.6% |
| 1983 | 1.43 Percentage change | -16.3% |
| 1984 | 3.52 Percentage change | +146.4% |
| 1985 | 3.78 Percentage change | +7.2% |
| 1986 | 2.8 Percentage change | -25.8% |
| 1987 | 1.01 Percentage change | -63.9% |
| 1988 | -1.09 Percentage change | -207.8% |
| 1989 | 1.2 Percentage change | -209.7% |
| 1990 | 1.08 Percentage change | -9.5% |
| 1991 | 0.3587 Percentage change | -66.9% |
| 1992 | 1.8 Percentage change | +401.3% |
| 1993 | 0.8247 Percentage change | -54.1% |
| 1994 | 0.6341 Percentage change | -23.1% |
| 1995 | -1.59 Percentage change | -350.0% |
| 1996 | 0.122 Percentage change | -107.7% |
| 1997 | -0.8478 Percentage change | -794.9% |
| 1998 | -1.11 Percentage change | +30.9% |
| 1999 | -0.1101 Percentage change | -90.1% |
| 2000 | 0.7617 Percentage change | -791.7% |
| 2001 | 0.1493 Percentage change | -80.4% |
| 2002 | -0.4947 Percentage change | -431.3% |
| 2003 | -2.01 Percentage change | +306.9% |
| 2004 | -1.39 Percentage change | -30.8% |
| 2005 | -1.68 Percentage change | +20.2% |
| 2006 | -1.53 Percentage change | -8.9% |
| 2007 | -3.44 Percentage change | +125.7% |
| 2008 | -1.4 Percentage change | -59.4% |
| 2009 | -2.77 Percentage change | +98.0% |
| 2010 | -2.44 Percentage change | -11.8% |
| 2011 | -2.49 Percentage change | +1.9% |
| 2012 | -3.53 Percentage change | +42.1% |
| 2013 | -2.31 Percentage change | -34.5% |
| 2014 | -1.57 Percentage change | -32.0% |
| 2015 | -2.19 Percentage change | +39.1% |
| 2016 | -3.27 Percentage change | +49.2% |
| 2017 | -1.32 Percentage change | -59.6% |
| 2018 | -2.42 Percentage change | +83.3% |
| 2019 | -5.19 Percentage change | +114.7% |
| 2020 | -5.58 Percentage change | +7.5% |
| 2021 | -5.22 Percentage change | -6.5% |
| 2022 | -5.86 Percentage change | +12.3% |
| 2023 | -8.74 Percentage change | +49.3% |
| 2024 | -9.35 Percentage change | +7.0% |
| 2025 | -4.93 Percentage change | -47.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -1.63 Percentage change | -2.81 Percentage change | 1.23 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -3.69 Percentage change | -8.46 Percentage change | -0.9581 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4102 Percentage change | -2.43 Percentage change | 2.65 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.54 Percentage change | -1.09 Percentage change | 3.78 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.1169 Percentage change | -1.59 Percentage change | 1.8 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.38 Percentage change | -3.44 Percentage change | 0.7617 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -2.67 Percentage change | -5.19 Percentage change | -1.32 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -6.61 Percentage change | -9.35 Percentage change | -4.93 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for South and Central America
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.99 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -9 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -8.51 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 4.95 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 1.45 million Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South and Central America was -4.93 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 South and Central America?
- The highest recorded value was 3.78 Percentage change in 1985.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in South and Central America?
- The lowest recorded value was -9.35 Percentage change in 2024.
- How does South and Central America rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- South and Central America ranks 2215th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South and Central America?
- Over the last ten years it is down 125.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South and Central America 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
CSV · JSON — 76 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
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