Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia
Southern Asia: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 0.4009 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia, 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 Southern Asia stood at 0.4009 Percentage change.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 86.9% on the previous year and down 73.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia peaked at 9.45 Percentage change in 1953 and was at its lowest, -7.52 Percentage change, in 1960.
Southern Asia ranks 13th of 72 groups on this measure, in the top 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 Southern Asia, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.38 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 7.5 Percentage change | +71.1% |
| 1952 | -0.3756 Percentage change | -105.0% |
| 1953 | 9.45 Percentage change | -2616.8% |
| 1954 | 7.75 Percentage change | -18.0% |
| 1955 | 2.45 Percentage change | -68.4% |
| 1956 | 8.1 Percentage change | +230.2% |
| 1957 | 3.7 Percentage change | -54.4% |
| 1958 | 3.29 Percentage change | -11.0% |
| 1959 | 7.94 Percentage change | +141.4% |
| 1960 | -7.52 Percentage change | -194.7% |
| 1961 | 1.75 Percentage change | -123.2% |
| 1962 | -4.69 Percentage change | -368.5% |
| 1963 | -2.1 Percentage change | -55.3% |
| 1964 | -1.21 Percentage change | -42.1% |
| 1965 | -3.79 Percentage change | +212.8% |
| 1966 | -6.6 Percentage change | +74.0% |
| 1967 | -1.29 Percentage change | -80.5% |
| 1968 | 1.73 Percentage change | -234.6% |
| 1969 | -2.78 Percentage change | -260.6% |
| 1970 | -0.617 Percentage change | -77.8% |
| 1971 | 0.6935 Percentage change | -212.4% |
| 1972 | -0.5396 Percentage change | -177.8% |
| 1973 | -0.3404 Percentage change | -36.9% |
| 1974 | -2.14 Percentage change | +527.9% |
| 1975 | 4.58 Percentage change | -314.3% |
| 1976 | 0.7573 Percentage change | -83.5% |
| 1977 | 2.36 Percentage change | +211.3% |
| 1978 | 0.7861 Percentage change | -66.7% |
| 1979 | -1.24 Percentage change | -258.4% |
| 1980 | 3.42 Percentage change | -374.7% |
| 1981 | 4.42 Percentage change | +29.4% |
| 1982 | 1.89 Percentage change | -57.2% |
| 1983 | 2.05 Percentage change | +8.0% |
| 1984 | -3.6 Percentage change | -276.1% |
| 1985 | -4.22 Percentage change | +17.0% |
| 1986 | -0.2119 Percentage change | -95.0% |
| 1987 | -5.27 Percentage change | +2387.8% |
| 1988 | -1.02 Percentage change | -80.6% |
| 1989 | -1 Percentage change | -1.9% |
| 1990 | 5.74 Percentage change | -671.3% |
| 1991 | 0.6019 Percentage change | -89.5% |
| 1992 | 1.27 Percentage change | +110.6% |
| 1993 | 2.81 Percentage change | +121.8% |
| 1994 | -0.1796 Percentage change | -106.4% |
| 1995 | 0.104 Percentage change | -157.9% |
| 1996 | 2.99 Percentage change | +2769.9% |
| 1997 | 7.05 Percentage change | +136.1% |
| 1998 | 7.62 Percentage change | +8.1% |
| 1999 | -5.25 Percentage change | -168.9% |
| 2000 | -7.04 Percentage change | +34.2% |
| 2001 | -6.06 Percentage change | -13.9% |
| 2002 | -6.76 Percentage change | +11.5% |
| 2003 | 3.11 Percentage change | -146.1% |
| 2004 | -2.98 Percentage change | -195.7% |
| 2005 | 4.69 Percentage change | -257.5% |
| 2006 | -2.02 Percentage change | -143.0% |
| 2007 | 3.38 Percentage change | -267.6% |
| 2008 | -2.19 Percentage change | -164.8% |
| 2009 | -0.891 Percentage change | -59.4% |
| 2010 | 0.9786 Percentage change | -209.8% |
| 2011 | 1.39 Percentage change | +42.4% |
| 2012 | -3.78 Percentage change | -371.4% |
| 2013 | 1.97 Percentage change | -152.2% |
| 2014 | -3.19 Percentage change | -261.5% |
| 2015 | 1.52 Percentage change | -147.6% |
| 2016 | -1.7 Percentage change | -212.3% |
| 2017 | -0.1868 Percentage change | -89.0% |
| 2018 | -4.5 Percentage change | +2308.0% |
| 2019 | 7.23 Percentage change | -260.9% |
| 2020 | 8.3 Percentage change | +14.7% |
| 2021 | -4.58 Percentage change | -155.2% |
| 2022 | 0.7641 Percentage change | -116.7% |
| 2023 | 1.91 Percentage change | +150.3% |
| 2024 | 3.06 Percentage change | +60.0% |
| 2025 | 0.4009 Percentage change | -86.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 5.42 Percentage change | -0.3756 Percentage change | 9.45 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -2.65 Percentage change | -7.52 Percentage change | 1.75 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4295 Percentage change | -2.14 Percentage change | 4.58 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.3548 Percentage change | -5.27 Percentage change | 4.42 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.27 Percentage change | -5.25 Percentage change | 7.62 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -1.68 Percentage change | -7.04 Percentage change | 4.69 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.0259 Percentage change | -4.5 Percentage change | 7.23 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.64 Percentage change | -4.58 Percentage change | 8.3 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Southern Asia
- 10 Panama 5.66 Percentage change compare
- 11 South Africa 5.46 Percentage change compare
- 12 Sri Lanka 5.24 Percentage change compare
- 13 Niger 4.49 Percentage change compare
- 14 Svalbard and Jan Mayen 4.16 Percentage change compare
- 15 Holy See 4.1 Percentage change compare
- 16 Finland 3.9 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Southern Asia
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 6.69 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.274 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.44 °C (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production 15.39 million t (2024)
- Recovered paper — Production 8.45 million t (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Use per area of cropland 44.63 kg/ha (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per capita 13.9 kg/cap (2024)
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Use per value of agricultural production 38.89 g/Int$ (2024)
- Nutrient phosphate P2O5 (total) — Import quantity 4.77 million t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Asia was 0.4009 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 Southern Asia?
- The highest recorded value was 9.45 Percentage change in 1953.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Southern Asia?
- The lowest recorded value was -7.52 Percentage change in 1960.
- How does Southern Asia rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Southern Asia ranks 13th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Southern Asia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 73.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Southern Asia 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