Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Western Europe
Western Europe: Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly was -3.1 Percentage change in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Western Europe, 1950–2025
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Percentage change.
Analysis
Western Europe recorded -3.1 Percentage change for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in 2025.
That represents a change of down 205.6% on the previous year and down 40.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Western Europe peaked at 6.36 Percentage change in 1981 and was at its lowest, -6.25 Percentage change, in 2019.
That places Western Europe 29th out of 72 groups 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.
Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly in Western Europe, year by year
| Year | Percentage change | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | -3.61 Percentage change | — |
| 1951 | 1.87 Percentage change | -151.7% |
| 1952 | -2.59 Percentage change | -238.4% |
| 1953 | -3.21 Percentage change | +24.0% |
| 1954 | 0.5185 Percentage change | -116.2% |
| 1955 | -4.75 Percentage change | -1015.6% |
| 1956 | 3.72 Percentage change | -178.4% |
| 1957 | -2.36 Percentage change | -163.5% |
| 1958 | 2.07 Percentage change | -187.4% |
| 1959 | -4.66 Percentage change | -325.4% |
| 1960 | 2.8 Percentage change | -160.2% |
| 1961 | -0.9626 Percentage change | -134.3% |
| 1962 | -3.86 Percentage change | +300.8% |
| 1963 | 1.66 Percentage change | -142.9% |
| 1964 | -3.61 Percentage change | -318.2% |
| 1965 | 5.44 Percentage change | -250.6% |
| 1966 | 3.24 Percentage change | -40.5% |
| 1967 | 1.52 Percentage change | -52.9% |
| 1968 | 3.6 Percentage change | +136.3% |
| 1969 | 3.14 Percentage change | -12.7% |
| 1970 | 3.43 Percentage change | +9.1% |
| 1971 | 1.99 Percentage change | -42.0% |
| 1972 | 4.04 Percentage change | +102.8% |
| 1973 | 1.62 Percentage change | -59.9% |
| 1974 | 5.17 Percentage change | +219.4% |
| 1975 | 1.63 Percentage change | -68.4% |
| 1976 | -3.66 Percentage change | -323.6% |
| 1977 | 3.81 Percentage change | -204.3% |
| 1978 | 1.27 Percentage change | -66.8% |
| 1979 | 2.55 Percentage change | +101.4% |
| 1980 | 5.37 Percentage change | +110.6% |
| 1981 | 6.36 Percentage change | +18.4% |
| 1982 | 1.08 Percentage change | -83.0% |
| 1983 | 1.03 Percentage change | -4.7% |
| 1984 | 1.99 Percentage change | +93.6% |
| 1985 | -0.9795 Percentage change | -149.2% |
| 1986 | -0.1824 Percentage change | -81.4% |
| 1987 | 3.38 Percentage change | -1955.1% |
| 1988 | 1.62 Percentage change | -52.1% |
| 1989 | -5.29 Percentage change | -426.1% |
| 1990 | -1.24 Percentage change | -76.6% |
| 1991 | -2.51 Percentage change | +103.1% |
| 1992 | -0.7367 Percentage change | -70.7% |
| 1993 | -0.3032 Percentage change | -58.8% |
| 1994 | 1.22 Percentage change | -503.7% |
| 1995 | -0.5823 Percentage change | -147.6% |
| 1996 | -0.3245 Percentage change | -44.3% |
| 1997 | -3.41 Percentage change | +952.1% |
| 1998 | 1.61 Percentage change | -147.3% |
| 1999 | 0.0104 Percentage change | -99.4% |
| 2000 | 3.52 Percentage change | +33664.6% |
| 2001 | 1.03 Percentage change | -70.8% |
| 2002 | 0.054 Percentage change | -94.8% |
| 2003 | -3.16 Percentage change | -5954.2% |
| 2004 | -2.11 Percentage change | -33.3% |
| 2005 | -1.84 Percentage change | -12.4% |
| 2006 | 0.7066 Percentage change | -138.3% |
| 2007 | 2.76 Percentage change | +290.1% |
| 2008 | 1.02 Percentage change | -62.9% |
| 2009 | -5.18 Percentage change | -606.5% |
| 2010 | 0.4411 Percentage change | -108.5% |
| 2011 | -5.81 Percentage change | -1418.0% |
| 2012 | -0.4279 Percentage change | -92.6% |
| 2013 | 2.93 Percentage change | -784.9% |
| 2014 | 2 Percentage change | -31.6% |
| 2015 | -2.21 Percentage change | -210.3% |
| 2016 | -0.8377 Percentage change | -62.1% |
| 2017 | 0.0779 Percentage change | -109.3% |
| 2018 | -4.94 Percentage change | -6445.2% |
| 2019 | -6.25 Percentage change | +26.4% |
| 2020 | -4.51 Percentage change | -27.7% |
| 2021 | 2.22 Percentage change | -149.1% |
| 2022 | -2.37 Percentage change | -207.0% |
| 2023 | 0.4102 Percentage change | -117.3% |
| 2024 | 2.93 Percentage change | +615.3% |
| 2025 | -3.1 Percentage change | -205.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | -1.3 Percentage change | -4.75 Percentage change | 3.72 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.3 Percentage change | -3.86 Percentage change | 5.44 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.19 Percentage change | -3.66 Percentage change | 5.17 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.44 Percentage change | -5.29 Percentage change | 6.36 Percentage change | 10 |
| 1990s | -0.6261 Percentage change | -3.41 Percentage change | 1.61 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2000s | -0.3197 Percentage change | -5.18 Percentage change | 3.52 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2010s | -1.5 Percentage change | -6.25 Percentage change | 2.93 Percentage change | 10 |
| 2020s | -0.7373 Percentage change | -4.51 Percentage change | 2.93 Percentage change | 6 |
Countries ranked near Western Europe
- 26 Costa Rica 2.9 Percentage change compare
- 27 Isle of Man 2.85 Percentage change compare
- 28 Nepal 2.73 Percentage change compare
- 29 Ireland 2.51 Percentage change compare
- 30 Vanuatu 2.29 Percentage change compare
- 31 North Macedonia 2.21 Percentage change compare
- 32 Saint Kitts and Nevis 2.19 Percentage change compare
More environment data for Western Europe
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -3.94 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.485 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 2.23 °C (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total fibre furnish — Production, annual growth rate -4.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly 2.84 Percentage change (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import quantity, annual growth rate 3.97 % change on previous year (2024)
- Graphic papers — Import value, annual growth rate -2.77 % change on previous year (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, gaps filled 1.17 million t (2024)
- Newsprint — Import quantity, annual growth rate 9.31 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Western Europe?
- Historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly in Western Europe was -3.1 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 Europe?
- The highest recorded value was 6.36 Percentage change in 1981.
- What is the lowest historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly recorded in Western Europe?
- The lowest recorded value was -6.25 Percentage change in 2019.
- How does Western Europe rank for historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly?
- Western Europe ranks 29th out of 72 groups with data for 2025.
- Is historical exposure to drought — land soil moisture anomaly rising or falling in Western Europe?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Western 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