Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South Australia
South Australia: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -10.81 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South Australia, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
South Australia recorded -10.81 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
The figure is down 134.3% on the previous year and down 43.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South Australia peaked at 49.28 Percentage change in 1974 and was at its lowest, -25.99 Percentage change, in 1965.
That places South Australia 2918th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
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 Australia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -6.16 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -17.51 Percentage change | +184.4% |
| 1952 | -18.53 Percentage change | +5.8% |
| 1953 | -8.51 Percentage change | -54.0% |
| 1954 | 8.83 Percentage change | -203.7% |
| 1955 | 23.92 Percentage change | +170.9% |
| 1956 | 0.4852 Percentage change | -98.0% |
| 1957 | -14.61 Percentage change | -3111.8% |
| 1958 | -3.18 Percentage change | -78.3% |
| 1959 | -18.11 Percentage change | +470.0% |
| 1960 | -10.68 Percentage change | -41.0% |
| 1961 | -15.78 Percentage change | +47.8% |
| 1962 | -9.31 Percentage change | -41.0% |
| 1963 | 1.67 Percentage change | -118.0% |
| 1964 | 0.1755 Percentage change | -89.5% |
| 1965 | -25.99 Percentage change | -14911.6% |
| 1966 | 5.55 Percentage change | -121.3% |
| 1967 | -23.7 Percentage change | -527.3% |
| 1968 | 21.01 Percentage change | -188.6% |
| 1969 | -12.99 Percentage change | -161.8% |
| 1970 | -20.8 Percentage change | +60.1% |
| 1971 | -3.54 Percentage change | -83.0% |
| 1972 | -15.14 Percentage change | +327.7% |
| 1973 | 20.85 Percentage change | -237.7% |
| 1974 | 49.28 Percentage change | +136.3% |
| 1975 | 11.57 Percentage change | -76.5% |
| 1976 | -6.77 Percentage change | -158.5% |
| 1977 | 6.62 Percentage change | -197.8% |
| 1978 | 11.87 Percentage change | +79.4% |
| 1979 | 26.93 Percentage change | +126.8% |
| 1980 | 14.96 Percentage change | -44.4% |
| 1981 | 16.52 Percentage change | +10.4% |
| 1982 | -18.29 Percentage change | -210.7% |
| 1983 | 8.38 Percentage change | -145.8% |
| 1984 | 4.16 Percentage change | -50.3% |
| 1985 | -7.13 Percentage change | -271.4% |
| 1986 | 5.37 Percentage change | -175.3% |
| 1987 | 9.7 Percentage change | +80.8% |
| 1988 | 4.34 Percentage change | -55.2% |
| 1989 | 22.54 Percentage change | +419.0% |
| 1990 | -1.44 Percentage change | -106.4% |
| 1991 | -7.06 Percentage change | +390.1% |
| 1992 | 22.53 Percentage change | -419.3% |
| 1993 | -2.08 Percentage change | -109.2% |
| 1994 | -9.71 Percentage change | +367.5% |
| 1995 | -0.3824 Percentage change | -96.1% |
| 1996 | 12.07 Percentage change | -3256.0% |
| 1997 | -0.2271 Percentage change | -101.9% |
| 1998 | -3.38 Percentage change | +1387.2% |
| 1999 | -13.08 Percentage change | +287.3% |
| 2000 | -5.66 Percentage change | -56.7% |
| 2001 | -4.14 Percentage change | -26.8% |
| 2002 | -18.61 Percentage change | +349.2% |
| 2003 | 4.12 Percentage change | -122.1% |
| 2004 | 15.87 Percentage change | +285.3% |
| 2005 | -17.58 Percentage change | -210.8% |
| 2006 | -11.91 Percentage change | -32.3% |
| 2007 | -3.15 Percentage change | -73.6% |
| 2008 | -13.28 Percentage change | +322.3% |
| 2009 | -5.33 Percentage change | -59.9% |
| 2010 | 16.83 Percentage change | -415.6% |
| 2011 | -8.27 Percentage change | -149.2% |
| 2012 | 5.8 Percentage change | -170.1% |
| 2013 | 11.31 Percentage change | +95.0% |
| 2014 | -5.51 Percentage change | -148.7% |
| 2015 | -7.54 Percentage change | +36.9% |
| 2016 | 13.85 Percentage change | -283.6% |
| 2017 | 6.04 Percentage change | -56.4% |
| 2018 | -4.41 Percentage change | -172.9% |
| 2019 | -19.46 Percentage change | +341.6% |
| 2020 | -0.4334 Percentage change | -97.8% |
| 2021 | -11.39 Percentage change | +2529.3% |
| 2022 | 17.35 Percentage change | -252.3% |
| 2023 | 2.03 Percentage change | -88.3% |
| 2024 | -4.61 Percentage change | -327.4% |
| 2025 | -10.81 Percentage change | +134.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -5.34 Percentage change | -18.53 Percentage change | 23.92 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -7 Percentage change | -25.99 Percentage change | 21.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 8.09 Percentage change | -20.8 Percentage change | 49.28 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.05 Percentage change | -18.29 Percentage change | 22.54 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.2752 Percentage change | -13.08 Percentage change | 22.53 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -5.97 Percentage change | -18.61 Percentage change | 15.87 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8641 Percentage change | -19.46 Percentage change | 16.83 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.31 Percentage change | -11.39 Percentage change | 17.35 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for South Australia
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -5.84 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -14.63 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -7.83 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 0.3254 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 195,631 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 1,127 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 254.25 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South Australia?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South Australia was -10.81 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 Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 49.28 Percentage change in 1974.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in South Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was -25.99 Percentage change in 1965.
- How does South Australia rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- South Australia ranks 2918th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 43.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South Australia 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