Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates

United Arab Emirates: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -80.98 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2025)
-80.98 Percentage change
Change on year
down 306.0%
World rank
191st
of 191 countries
All-time high
235.57 Percentage change
in 1997
All-time low
-90.59 Percentage change
in 2000
Years of data
76
1950–2025

Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates, 1950–2025

-1000100200195019872025

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 United Arab Emirates is -80.98 Percentage change, measured in 2025.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 306.0% on the previous year and down 43.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates peaked at 235.57 Percentage change in 1997 and was at its lowest, -90.59 Percentage change, in 2000.

United Arab Emirates ranks 191st of 191 countries on this measure, 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 United Arab Emirates, year by year

Annual values for Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates, 1950 to 2025.
Year Percentage change Change
1950 7.33 Percentage change
1951 -50.65 Percentage change -791.2%
1952 -0.9639 Percentage change -98.1%
1953 4.71 Percentage change -588.2%
1954 7.66 Percentage change +62.7%
1955 7.97 Percentage change +4.1%
1956 -60.29 Percentage change -856.4%
1957 26.2 Percentage change -143.5%
1958 22.1 Percentage change -15.6%
1959 125.12 Percentage change +466.1%
1960 -40.48 Percentage change -132.4%
1961 -25.83 Percentage change -36.2%
1962 -61.8 Percentage change +139.3%
1963 21.07 Percentage change -134.1%
1964 0.286 Percentage change -98.6%
1965 50.23 Percentage change +17466.8%
1966 -55.82 Percentage change -211.1%
1967 38.59 Percentage change -169.1%
1968 25.52 Percentage change -33.9%
1969 -4.79 Percentage change -118.8%
1970 -53.2 Percentage change +1011.6%
1971 -66.07 Percentage change +24.2%
1972 53.26 Percentage change -180.6%
1973 -52.05 Percentage change -197.7%
1974 -62.22 Percentage change +19.5%
1975 -24.37 Percentage change -60.8%
1976 -4.57 Percentage change -81.2%
1977 -0.695 Percentage change -84.8%
1978 14.98 Percentage change -2255.0%
1979 -57.73 Percentage change -485.4%
1980 43.5 Percentage change -175.3%
1981 -40.08 Percentage change -192.1%
1982 88.17 Percentage change -320.0%
1983 119.46 Percentage change +35.5%
1984 -70.72 Percentage change -159.2%
1985 -50.48 Percentage change -28.6%
1986 -14.92 Percentage change -70.4%
1987 31.18 Percentage change -309.0%
1988 109.58 Percentage change +251.5%
1989 -17.92 Percentage change -116.4%
1990 22.43 Percentage change -225.2%
1991 -46.74 Percentage change -308.4%
1992 19.21 Percentage change -141.1%
1993 5.56 Percentage change -71.1%
1994 -68.14 Percentage change -1326.5%
1995 -12.67 Percentage change -81.4%
1996 77.42 Percentage change -711.2%
1997 235.57 Percentage change +204.3%
1998 24.21 Percentage change -89.7%
1999 -55.72 Percentage change -330.2%
2000 -90.59 Percentage change +62.6%
2001 -64.05 Percentage change -29.3%
2002 -55.73 Percentage change -13.0%
2003 -47.27 Percentage change -15.2%
2004 -68.85 Percentage change +45.7%
2005 69.23 Percentage change -200.5%
2006 -1.55 Percentage change -102.2%
2007 -39.96 Percentage change +2485.1%
2008 -59.52 Percentage change +48.9%
2009 17.76 Percentage change -129.8%
2010 -14.87 Percentage change -183.7%
2011 -45.82 Percentage change +208.2%
2012 -48.28 Percentage change +5.4%
2013 51.49 Percentage change -206.6%
2014 -28.1 Percentage change -154.6%
2015 -56.4 Percentage change +100.7%
2016 -20.75 Percentage change -63.2%
2017 -27.42 Percentage change +32.2%
2018 -30.08 Percentage change +9.7%
2019 -41.02 Percentage change +36.4%
2020 -20.18 Percentage change -50.8%
2021 -80.8 Percentage change +300.3%
2022 -60.43 Percentage change -25.2%
2023 45.14 Percentage change -174.7%
2024 -19.95 Percentage change -144.2%
2025 -80.98 Percentage change +306.0%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 8.92 Percentage change -60.29 Percentage change 125.12 Percentage change 10
1960s -5.3 Percentage change -61.8 Percentage change 50.23 Percentage change 10
1970s -25.27 Percentage change -66.07 Percentage change 53.26 Percentage change 10
1980s 19.78 Percentage change -70.72 Percentage change 119.46 Percentage change 10
1990s 20.11 Percentage change -68.14 Percentage change 235.57 Percentage change 10
2000s -34.05 Percentage change -90.59 Percentage change 69.23 Percentage change 10
2010s -26.12 Percentage change -56.4 Percentage change 51.49 Percentage change 10
2020s -36.2 Percentage change -80.98 Percentage change 45.14 Percentage change 6

Countries ranked near United Arab Emirates

  1. 188 Qatar -61.67 Percentage change compare
  2. 189 Western Sahara -62.29 Percentage change compare
  3. 190 Oman -62.46 Percentage change compare

See the full ranking of 3375 places →

More environment data for United Arab Emirates

All data for United Arab Emirates →

Frequently asked questions

What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates?
Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates was -80.98 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 United Arab Emirates?
The highest recorded value was 235.57 Percentage change in 1997.
What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in United Arab Emirates?
The lowest recorded value was -90.59 Percentage change in 2000.
How does United Arab Emirates rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
United Arab Emirates ranks 191st out of 191 countries with data for 2025.
Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in United Arab Emirates?
Over the last ten years it is down 43.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this United Arab Emirates 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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Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in United Arab Emirates. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 24 August 2026, from https://environment.statizoid.com/stat/historical-exposure-to-drought-land-soil-moisture-anomaly/united-arab-emirates/

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About this data

Indicator
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly
Unit
Percentage change
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
3,375 places, 256,500 data points, 1950–2025
Last refreshed

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