Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Western Cape
Western Cape: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was 12.68 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Western Cape, 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 Western Cape stood at 12.68 Percentage change.
That represents a change of up 174.8% on the previous year and up 359.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Western Cape peaked at 37 Percentage change in 1950 and was at its lowest, -30.68 Percentage change, in 1951.
That places Western Cape 25th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
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 | -3.64 Percentage change | -30.68 Percentage change | 37 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | -6.64 Percentage change | -18.08 Percentage change | 6.08 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.56 Percentage change | -17.64 Percentage change | 16.49 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | -0.29 Percentage change | -13.63 Percentage change | 19.98 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -1.77 Percentage change | -18.47 Percentage change | 14.08 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.71 Percentage change | -15.43 Percentage change | 32.07 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -5.76 Percentage change | -19.28 Percentage change | 7.36 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.6296 Percentage change | -16.95 Percentage change | 12.68 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Cape
- 22 Martinique 3.12 Percentage change compare
- 23 South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands 3.08 Percentage change compare
- 24 Dominica 3.05 Percentage change compare
- 25 Zimbabwe 2.93 Percentage change compare
- 26 Costa Rica 2.9 Percentage change compare
- 27 Isle of Man 2.85 Percentage change compare
- 28 Nepal 2.73 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Western Cape
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 15.24 Percentage change (2025)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -13.88 Percentage change (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -13.29 Percentage change (2024)
- River flooding exposure — Cropland share exposed to river flooding 1.18 Percentage of agricultural land area (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Grassland 7,303 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Loss of cropland 572.27 Square kilometres (2022)
- Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces 684.81 Square kilometres (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Western Cape?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Western Cape was 12.68 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 Western Cape?
- The highest recorded value was 37 Percentage change in 1950.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Western Cape?
- The lowest recorded value was -30.68 Percentage change in 1951.
- How does Western Cape rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Western Cape ranks 25th out of 3112 regions with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Western Cape?
- Over the last ten years it is up 359.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Western Cape 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