Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South West
South West: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -1.51 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in South West, 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 West stood at -1.51 Percentage change.
That represents a change of up 70.0% on the previous year and down 210.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South West peaked at 9 Percentage change in 1976 and was at its lowest, -14.71 Percentage change, in 1993.
That places South West 1310th 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 West, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -11.61 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -4.42 Percentage change | -62.0% |
| 1952 | -10.61 Percentage change | +140.2% |
| 1953 | -8.01 Percentage change | -24.4% |
| 1954 | -8.58 Percentage change | +7.0% |
| 1955 | 6.27 Percentage change | -173.1% |
| 1956 | -5.55 Percentage change | -188.6% |
| 1957 | 0.7004 Percentage change | -112.6% |
| 1958 | -9.91 Percentage change | -1515.5% |
| 1959 | 1.02 Percentage change | -110.2% |
| 1960 | 0.9684 Percentage change | -4.6% |
| 1961 | -6.57 Percentage change | -778.6% |
| 1962 | -3.18 Percentage change | -51.6% |
| 1963 | 1.93 Percentage change | -160.6% |
| 1964 | 5.83 Percentage change | +202.3% |
| 1965 | -9.72 Percentage change | -266.8% |
| 1966 | 3.5 Percentage change | -136.0% |
| 1967 | 4.77 Percentage change | +36.4% |
| 1968 | -1.84 Percentage change | -138.7% |
| 1969 | -5.61 Percentage change | +204.5% |
| 1970 | 2.4 Percentage change | -142.7% |
| 1971 | 6.41 Percentage change | +167.4% |
| 1972 | 8.37 Percentage change | +30.5% |
| 1973 | 5.75 Percentage change | -31.2% |
| 1974 | 2.87 Percentage change | -50.1% |
| 1975 | 4.6 Percentage change | +60.4% |
| 1976 | 9 Percentage change | +95.6% |
| 1977 | -2.84 Percentage change | -131.5% |
| 1978 | 6.1 Percentage change | -314.7% |
| 1979 | 6.48 Percentage change | +6.2% |
| 1980 | -0.5908 Percentage change | -109.1% |
| 1981 | 1.88 Percentage change | -419.0% |
| 1982 | 3.97 Percentage change | +110.8% |
| 1983 | 8.18 Percentage change | +105.9% |
| 1984 | -3.34 Percentage change | -140.9% |
| 1985 | -4.06 Percentage change | +21.3% |
| 1986 | 0.7202 Percentage change | -117.8% |
| 1987 | -1.25 Percentage change | -273.3% |
| 1988 | -0.8078 Percentage change | -35.3% |
| 1989 | 3.85 Percentage change | -576.0% |
| 1990 | -3.59 Percentage change | -193.3% |
| 1991 | 8.52 Percentage change | -337.5% |
| 1992 | -2.31 Percentage change | -127.1% |
| 1993 | -14.71 Percentage change | +537.6% |
| 1994 | -7.93 Percentage change | -46.1% |
| 1995 | 7.31 Percentage change | -192.2% |
| 1996 | 5.07 Percentage change | -30.6% |
| 1997 | 3.29 Percentage change | -35.2% |
| 1998 | 1.25 Percentage change | -61.9% |
| 1999 | 2.17 Percentage change | +73.2% |
| 2000 | -10.14 Percentage change | -567.6% |
| 2001 | -4.85 Percentage change | -52.2% |
| 2002 | 4.8 Percentage change | -199.0% |
| 2003 | 3.4 Percentage change | -29.1% |
| 2004 | 0.1279 Percentage change | -96.2% |
| 2005 | 2.91 Percentage change | +2178.5% |
| 2006 | -0.1468 Percentage change | -105.0% |
| 2007 | -1.92 Percentage change | +1205.7% |
| 2008 | -5.03 Percentage change | +162.4% |
| 2009 | -0.3661 Percentage change | -92.7% |
| 2010 | 2.99 Percentage change | -917.5% |
| 2011 | -9.13 Percentage change | -405.2% |
| 2012 | -12.67 Percentage change | +38.8% |
| 2013 | -3.61 Percentage change | -71.5% |
| 2014 | 6 Percentage change | -266.2% |
| 2015 | 1.38 Percentage change | -77.0% |
| 2016 | -6.67 Percentage change | -584.1% |
| 2017 | -3.01 Percentage change | -54.9% |
| 2018 | -1.64 Percentage change | -45.4% |
| 2019 | -5.65 Percentage change | +243.7% |
| 2020 | -1.7 Percentage change | -70.0% |
| 2021 | -1.37 Percentage change | -19.1% |
| 2022 | -1.04 Percentage change | -24.4% |
| 2023 | -3.78 Percentage change | +264.4% |
| 2024 | -5.05 Percentage change | +33.4% |
| 2025 | -1.51 Percentage change | -70.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -5.07 Percentage change | -11.61 Percentage change | 6.27 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -0.9943 Percentage change | -9.72 Percentage change | 5.83 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.91 Percentage change | -2.84 Percentage change | 9 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.8555 Percentage change | -4.06 Percentage change | 8.18 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.093 Percentage change | -14.71 Percentage change | 8.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.12 Percentage change | -10.14 Percentage change | 4.8 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -3.2 Percentage change | -12.67 Percentage change | 6 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -2.41 Percentage change | -5.05 Percentage change | -1.04 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for South West
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -1.67 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -16.89 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -6.27 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 2.32 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 891.76 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 1,404 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 138.37 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South West?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in South West was -1.51 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 West?
- The highest recorded value was 9 Percentage change in 1976.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in South West?
- The lowest recorded value was -14.71 Percentage change in 1993.
- How does South West rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- South West ranks 1310th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in South West?
- Over the last ten years it is down 210.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this South West 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