Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Wales
Wales: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -1.86 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Wales, 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 Wales stood at -1.86 Percentage change.
The figure is down 204.3% on the previous year and down 185.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Wales peaked at 7.64 Percentage change in 2008 and was at its lowest, -15.89 Percentage change, in 1955.
That places Wales 82nd out of 232 countries 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -3.12 Percentage change | -15.89 Percentage change | 5.45 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -1.97 Percentage change | -8.08 Percentage change | 2.35 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | -0.9903 Percentage change | -9.05 Percentage change | 3.21 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1082 Percentage change | -8.68 Percentage change | 7.01 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.72 Percentage change | -10.35 Percentage change | 2.93 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.29 Percentage change | -0.5883 Percentage change | 7.64 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4415 Percentage change | -5.75 Percentage change | 5.66 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.1438 Percentage change | -2.38 Percentage change | 2.59 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Wales
- 79 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes -1.73 Percentage change compare
- 80 Russian Federation -1.76 Percentage change compare
- 81 Lao People's Democratic Republic -1.77 Percentage change compare
- 83 Kosovo -1.95 Percentage change compare
- 84 Austria -1.98 Percentage change compare
- 85 Saint Lucia -2.19 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Wales
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.94 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -19.9 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly 2.97 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 3.77 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 16,276 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 66.53 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 258.15 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Wales?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Wales was -1.86 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 Wales?
- The highest recorded value was 7.64 Percentage change in 2008.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Wales?
- The lowest recorded value was -15.89 Percentage change in 1955.
- How does Wales rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Wales ranks 82nd out of 232 countries with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Wales?
- Over the last ten years it is down 185.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Wales 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