Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Europe
Southern Europe: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -0.3167 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Europe, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
The most recent figure for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Europe is -0.3167 Percentage change, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of up 79.6% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Europe peaked at 14.31 Percentage change in 1972 and was at its lowest, -7.28 Percentage change, in 1950.
That places Southern Europe 15th out of 72 groups with data for 2025, putting it 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 Europe, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -7.28 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 0.7999 Percentage change | -111.0% |
| 1952 | 0.8989 Percentage change | +12.4% |
| 1953 | -2.89 Percentage change | -422.0% |
| 1954 | -2.39 Percentage change | -17.3% |
| 1955 | 2.13 Percentage change | -188.8% |
| 1956 | 2.11 Percentage change | -0.7% |
| 1957 | -0.5861 Percentage change | -127.8% |
| 1958 | -2.03 Percentage change | +246.5% |
| 1959 | 6.52 Percentage change | -421.1% |
| 1960 | 5.11 Percentage change | -21.6% |
| 1961 | -0.3736 Percentage change | -107.3% |
| 1962 | 2.87 Percentage change | -866.9% |
| 1963 | 6.18 Percentage change | +115.9% |
| 1964 | 4.48 Percentage change | -27.6% |
| 1965 | 1.85 Percentage change | -58.7% |
| 1966 | 5.72 Percentage change | +209.5% |
| 1967 | 0.5056 Percentage change | -91.2% |
| 1968 | 3.23 Percentage change | +539.3% |
| 1969 | 6.2 Percentage change | +91.9% |
| 1970 | -1.15 Percentage change | -118.5% |
| 1971 | 9.27 Percentage change | -906.9% |
| 1972 | 14.31 Percentage change | +54.3% |
| 1973 | 3.76 Percentage change | -73.7% |
| 1974 | 5.77 Percentage change | +53.5% |
| 1975 | 1.7 Percentage change | -70.6% |
| 1976 | 6.95 Percentage change | +309.0% |
| 1977 | 4.43 Percentage change | -36.3% |
| 1978 | 3.75 Percentage change | -15.3% |
| 1979 | 3.96 Percentage change | +5.6% |
| 1980 | 2.6 Percentage change | -34.3% |
| 1981 | -3.3 Percentage change | -226.7% |
| 1982 | 3.41 Percentage change | -203.3% |
| 1983 | -0.4802 Percentage change | -114.1% |
| 1984 | 4.89 Percentage change | -1118.0% |
| 1985 | -2.8 Percentage change | -157.2% |
| 1986 | 1.14 Percentage change | -140.6% |
| 1987 | 2.63 Percentage change | +131.9% |
| 1988 | 0.9533 Percentage change | -63.8% |
| 1989 | 0.4054 Percentage change | -57.5% |
| 1990 | -2.67 Percentage change | -758.1% |
| 1991 | 2.71 Percentage change | -201.6% |
| 1992 | -2.01 Percentage change | -174.2% |
| 1993 | -2.07 Percentage change | +2.9% |
| 1994 | -7.02 Percentage change | +239.4% |
| 1995 | -3.24 Percentage change | -53.9% |
| 1996 | 4.45 Percentage change | -237.3% |
| 1997 | 1.34 Percentage change | -69.8% |
| 1998 | 1.57 Percentage change | +17.0% |
| 1999 | 1.09 Percentage change | -30.8% |
| 2000 | -4.37 Percentage change | -502.8% |
| 2001 | -2.05 Percentage change | -53.1% |
| 2002 | 1.19 Percentage change | -157.9% |
| 2003 | 5.35 Percentage change | +351.1% |
| 2004 | 2.39 Percentage change | -55.4% |
| 2005 | -4.37 Percentage change | -283.0% |
| 2006 | -0.6398 Percentage change | -85.4% |
| 2007 | -0.4227 Percentage change | -33.9% |
| 2008 | -1.73 Percentage change | +308.2% |
| 2009 | -2 Percentage change | +15.9% |
| 2010 | 5.66 Percentage change | -382.9% |
| 2011 | -1.62 Percentage change | -128.6% |
| 2012 | -5.35 Percentage change | +230.1% |
| 2013 | 2.94 Percentage change | -155.0% |
| 2014 | 5.05 Percentage change | +71.5% |
| 2015 | -0.3193 Percentage change | -106.3% |
| 2016 | -3.05 Percentage change | +854.9% |
| 2017 | -6.18 Percentage change | +102.8% |
| 2018 | 4.17 Percentage change | -167.4% |
| 2019 | -5.34 Percentage change | -228.3% |
| 2020 | -1.03 Percentage change | -80.8% |
| 2021 | -1.35 Percentage change | +31.1% |
| 2022 | -2.75 Percentage change | +104.2% |
| 2023 | -2.02 Percentage change | -26.5% |
| 2024 | -1.55 Percentage change | -23.3% |
| 2025 | -0.3167 Percentage change | -79.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -0.2727 Percentage change | -7.28 Percentage change | 6.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 3.58 Percentage change | -0.3736 Percentage change | 6.2 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 5.28 Percentage change | -1.15 Percentage change | 14.31 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.9452 Percentage change | -3.3 Percentage change | 4.89 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.5856 Percentage change | -7.02 Percentage change | 4.45 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.6651 Percentage change | -4.37 Percentage change | 5.35 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -0.4048 Percentage change | -6.18 Percentage change | 5.66 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -1.5 Percentage change | -2.75 Percentage change | -0.3167 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Southern Europe
- 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
- 17 Iceland 3.89 Percentage change compare
- 18 Nicaragua 3.64 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Southern Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.1235 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.323 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.19 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate 5.06 % change on previous year (2024)
- Other paper and paperboard — Import quantity, annual growth rate 8.67 % change on previous year (2024)
- Printing and writing papers — Import value, annual growth rate -1.13 % change on previous year (2024)
- Printing and writing papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 5.41 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import value, annual growth rate -8.51 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 471,515 t (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Europe?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Southern Europe was -0.3167 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 Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 14.31 Percentage change in 1972.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Southern Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was -7.28 Percentage change in 1950.
- How does Southern Europe rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Southern Europe ranks 15th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Southern Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Southern 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.
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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