Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -3.93 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC, 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 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC stood at -3.93 Percentage change.
The figure is down 37.3% on the previous year and down 235.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC peaked at 7.25 Percentage change in 2003 and was at its lowest, -10.56 Percentage change, in 2007.
Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC ranks 1988th of 3112 regions on this measure, 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 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -3.23 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | -2.04 Percentage change | -36.7% |
| 1952 | -1.21 Percentage change | -40.6% |
| 1953 | -8.97 Percentage change | +639.6% |
| 1954 | -7.44 Percentage change | -17.0% |
| 1955 | -2.28 Percentage change | -69.4% |
| 1956 | -0.7474 Percentage change | -67.2% |
| 1957 | -2.55 Percentage change | +240.8% |
| 1958 | 1.73 Percentage change | -167.8% |
| 1959 | -1.59 Percentage change | -192.0% |
| 1960 | -1.05 Percentage change | -33.7% |
| 1961 | -0.1406 Percentage change | -86.7% |
| 1962 | 3.5 Percentage change | -2586.9% |
| 1963 | 0.2347 Percentage change | -93.3% |
| 1964 | 1.87 Percentage change | +697.4% |
| 1965 | -5.23 Percentage change | -379.2% |
| 1966 | -0.9157 Percentage change | -82.5% |
| 1967 | -3.19 Percentage change | +247.9% |
| 1968 | -7.53 Percentage change | +136.4% |
| 1969 | -7.45 Percentage change | -1.1% |
| 1970 | -1.91 Percentage change | -74.3% |
| 1971 | 4.09 Percentage change | -314.0% |
| 1972 | 3.73 Percentage change | -8.9% |
| 1973 | -0.227 Percentage change | -106.1% |
| 1974 | -0.0288 Percentage change | -87.3% |
| 1975 | -4.64 Percentage change | +16038.8% |
| 1976 | -1.02 Percentage change | -78.1% |
| 1977 | -5.96 Percentage change | +486.8% |
| 1978 | -3.82 Percentage change | -35.9% |
| 1979 | -0.0229 Percentage change | -99.4% |
| 1980 | -4.53 Percentage change | +19655.1% |
| 1981 | -3.72 Percentage change | -17.8% |
| 1982 | 4.46 Percentage change | -219.8% |
| 1983 | -0.8782 Percentage change | -119.7% |
| 1984 | 3.01 Percentage change | -442.7% |
| 1985 | -1.79 Percentage change | -159.6% |
| 1986 | -4.49 Percentage change | +150.0% |
| 1987 | -1.94 Percentage change | -56.8% |
| 1988 | -1.62 Percentage change | -16.4% |
| 1989 | 4.61 Percentage change | -384.0% |
| 1990 | -1.01 Percentage change | -121.8% |
| 1991 | -3.8 Percentage change | +278.1% |
| 1992 | 4.03 Percentage change | -206.2% |
| 1993 | -2.3 Percentage change | -157.0% |
| 1994 | 1.7 Percentage change | -173.8% |
| 1995 | 0.6974 Percentage change | -58.9% |
| 1996 | 3.84 Percentage change | +451.1% |
| 1997 | 1.51 Percentage change | -60.8% |
| 1998 | -2.6 Percentage change | -272.2% |
| 1999 | -1.4 Percentage change | -46.0% |
| 2000 | 4.06 Percentage change | -389.7% |
| 2001 | -6.37 Percentage change | -257.0% |
| 2002 | -3.53 Percentage change | -44.6% |
| 2003 | 7.25 Percentage change | -305.4% |
| 2004 | 4.27 Percentage change | -41.0% |
| 2005 | 3.59 Percentage change | -16.0% |
| 2006 | 0.7423 Percentage change | -79.3% |
| 2007 | -10.56 Percentage change | -1522.3% |
| 2008 | 2.04 Percentage change | -119.3% |
| 2009 | 2.4 Percentage change | +17.5% |
| 2010 | -2.21 Percentage change | -192.2% |
| 2011 | 0.5094 Percentage change | -123.0% |
| 2012 | 3.61 Percentage change | +608.0% |
| 2013 | 2.21 Percentage change | -38.7% |
| 2014 | -1.36 Percentage change | -161.7% |
| 2015 | 2.89 Percentage change | -311.7% |
| 2016 | 3.7 Percentage change | +28.1% |
| 2017 | 0.8677 Percentage change | -76.6% |
| 2018 | 5.1 Percentage change | +487.3% |
| 2019 | -4.05 Percentage change | -179.4% |
| 2020 | 6.14 Percentage change | -251.6% |
| 2021 | -0.4039 Percentage change | -106.6% |
| 2022 | 0.8812 Percentage change | -318.2% |
| 2023 | 2.92 Percentage change | +231.3% |
| 2024 | -2.86 Percentage change | -198.0% |
| 2025 | -3.93 Percentage change | +37.3% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | -19655.1% | -0.0229 Percentage change | -4.53 Percentage change |
| 1975 | -16038.8% | -0.0288 Percentage change | -4.64 Percentage change |
| 1962 | +2586.9% | -0.1406 Percentage change | 3.5 Percentage change |
| 2007 | -1522.3% | 0.7423 Percentage change | -10.56 Percentage change |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -2.83 Percentage change | -8.97 Percentage change | 1.73 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.99 Percentage change | -7.53 Percentage change | 3.5 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.981 Percentage change | -5.96 Percentage change | 4.09 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.6896 Percentage change | -4.53 Percentage change | 4.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.068 Percentage change | -3.8 Percentage change | 4.03 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3898 Percentage change | -10.56 Percentage change | 7.25 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.13 Percentage change | -4.05 Percentage change | 5.1 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4577 Percentage change | -3.93 Percentage change | 6.14 Percentage change | 6 |
More environment data for Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.73 Percentage change (2025)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 0.8412 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC was -3.93 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 Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC?
- The highest recorded value was 7.25 Percentage change in 2003.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC?
- The lowest recorded value was -10.56 Percentage change in 2007.
- How does Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC ranks 1988th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC?
- Over the last ten years it is down 235.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, VA-NC 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