Precipitation - Regions — Change in extreme precipitation days compared to 1981-2010 average by country
<p style="text-align: justify;">This dataset provides indicators on total precipitation and the number of extreme precipitation days, in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions.</p> <p><strong>Data definition and source</strong></p> <p>Precipitation is the sum of all liquid and frozen water - such as rain and snow -...
What the numbers show
Precipitation - Regions — Change in extreme precipitation days compared to 1981-2010 average is currently reported for 48 countries. The highest value is 15.2 Days per year in Indonesia; the lowest is -2.6 Days per year in Argentina.
The median across all reporting countries is 0.75 Days per year, and the mean is 1.51 Days per year.
The gap between the highest and lowest reporting country is a factor of about 6.
Over the past decade 22 countries rose and 19 fell. The largest increase was in India (up 4,100.0%), and the largest decrease in Argentina (down 388.9%).
Precipitation - Regions — Change in extreme precipitation days: full country ranking
| # | Country | Latest | Year | 10-year change | Trend |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Indonesia | 15.2 Days per year | 2024 | up 700.0% | volatile |
| 2 | Costa Rica | 11.8 Days per year | 2024 | up 2,066.7% | volatile |
| 3 | Luxembourg | 5.6 Days per year | 2024 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 4 | Japan | 5.5 Days per year | 2024 | up 292.9% | volatile |
| 5 | Norway | 4 Days per year | 2024 | up 1,233.3% | volatile |
| 5 | Italy | 4 Days per year | 2024 | up 25.0% | volatile |
| 5 | India | 4 Days per year | 2024 | up 4,100.0% | volatile |
| 8 | France | 3.8 Days per year | 2024 | up 660.0% | volatile |
| 9 | Slovenia | 3 Days per year | 2024 | down 57.1% | volatile |
| 10 | Austria | 2.9 Days per year | 2024 | up 52.6% | volatile |
| 11 | Belgium | 2.7 Days per year | 2024 | up 145.5% | volatile |
| 11 | Peru | 2.7 Days per year | 2024 | down 34.1% | volatile |
| 13 | Czechia | 2.3 Days per year | 2024 | up 360.0% | volatile |
| 14 | Denmark | 1.9 Days per year | 2024 | up 1,050.0% | volatile |
| 15 | Spain | 1.6 Days per year | 2024 | up 433.3% | volatile |
| 15 | Croatia | 1.6 Days per year | 2024 | down 72.9% | volatile |
| 17 | Australia | 1.5 Days per year | 2024 | up 400.0% | volatile |
| 18 | Mexico | 1.4 Days per year | 2024 | up 180.0% | volatile |
| 19 | United Kingdom | 1.3 Days per year | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 19 | Netherlands | 1.3 Days per year | 2024 | up 550.0% | volatile |
| 21 | Germany | 1.2 Days per year | 2024 | up 140.0% | volatile |
| 22 | Brazil | 0.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 35.7% | volatile |
| 22 | United States | 0.9 Days per year | 2024 | up 400.0% | volatile |
| 24 | Sweden | 0.8 Days per year | 2024 | up 300.0% | volatile |
| 25 | Switzerland | 0.7 Days per year | 2024 | up 158.3% | volatile |
| 26 | Lithuania | 0.6 Days per year | 2024 | unchanged | volatile |
| 27 | Hungary | 0.5 Days per year | 2024 | down 80.0% | volatile |
| 28 | Latvia | 0.2 Days per year | 2024 | down 77.8% | volatile |
| 28 | Finland | 0.2 Days per year | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 30 | Malta | 0.1 Days per year | 2024 | unchanged | volatile |
| 30 | Canada | 0.1 Days per year | 2024 | down 80.0% | volatile |
| 32 | Poland | 0 Days per year | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 32 | Serbia | 0 Days per year | 2024 | down 100.0% | volatile |
| 32 | Russia | 0 Days per year | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 35 | New Zealand | -0.1 Days per year | 2024 | up 50.0% | volatile |
| 36 | Greece | -0.3 Days per year | 2024 | down 121.4% | volatile |
| 36 | Tunisia | -0.3 Days per year | 2024 | down 200.0% | volatile |
| 38 | Bulgaria | -0.4 Days per year | 2024 | down 108.3% | volatile |
| 39 | Romania | -0.5 Days per year | 2024 | down 133.3% | volatile |
| 39 | Estonia | -0.5 Days per year | 2024 | — | volatile |
| 39 | Israel | -0.5 Days per year | 2024 | — | flat |
| 39 | Ireland | -0.5 Days per year | 2024 | up 28.6% | volatile |
| 43 | Portugal | -0.8 Days per year | 2024 | down 126.7% | volatile |
| 44 | South Africa | -0.9 Days per year | 2024 | down 280.0% | volatile |
| 45 | Colombia | -1.2 Days per year | 2024 | down 192.3% | volatile |
| 46 | Iceland | -1.5 Days per year | 2024 | down 314.3% | volatile |
| 47 | Chile | -1.8 Days per year | 2024 | down 212.5% | volatile |
| 48 | Argentina | -2.6 Days per year | 2024 | down 388.9% | volatile |
Regions and income groups
Aggregates are excluded from the country ranking above so that a region can never outrank a country.
- Korea 1.2 Days per year
- Slovak Republic 0.6 Days per year
- China (People's Republic of) 0.5 Days per year
About this data
<p style="text-align: justify;">This dataset provides indicators on total precipitation and the number of extreme precipitation days, in large (TL2) and small (TL3) regions.</p> <p><strong>Data definition and source</strong></p> <p>Precipitation is the sum of all liquid and frozen water - such as rain and snow - that reaches the Earth's surface each year. It excludes fog, dew and any precipitation that evaporates before reaching the ground. Extreme precipitation days are defined as days with more than 20 mm of total precipitation. Changes in precipitation and extreme precipitation days are referenced to the 1981-2010 baseline average. The estimates rely on the <a href="https://developers.google.com/earth-engine/datasets/catalog/ECMWF_ERA5_LAND_DAILY_AGGR">ERA5-Land reanalysis</a> dataset.</p> <p style="text-align: justify;">ERA5-Land is used as it provides harmonised, globally consistent coverage at fine spatial resolution (0.1 degree), enabling the production of comparable subnational indicators also where national meteorological data are not available at the required scale. </p> <p style="text-align: justify;">These estimates may differ from official subnational climate statistics due to differences in methodological approaches, such as the use of reanalysis based top down modelling versus in situ observations, along with variations in input data sources, spatial resolution, and the models and algorithms used to generate temperature estimates.</p> <p><strong>Definition of regions</strong></p> <p style="text-align: justify;">Regions are subnational units below national boundaries. OECD countries have two regional levels: large regions (territorial level 2 or TL2) and small regions (territorial level 3 or TL3). For more information, see the OECD Territorial grid <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD_territorial-grid_TL2024.pdf">(pdf)</a> and the OECD Territorial Correspondence Table <a href="https://webfs-cfe.oecd.org/files/.Stat/region/OECD%20Territorial%20correspondence%20-%20TL2024c.xlsx">(xlsx)</a>. </p> <p><strong>Cite this dataset</strong></p> <p>OECD Regions, Cities and Local Areas database <a href="http://oe.cd/geostats">http://oe.cd/geostats</a>.</p> <p><strong>Further information</strong></p> <ul> <li><a href="https://localdataportal.oecd.org/">OECD Local Data Portal</a> </li> <li><a href="https://www.oecd.org/en/publications/oecd-regions-and-cities-at-a-glance-2024_f42db3bf-en.html">OECD Regions and Cities at a Glance</a></li> </ul> <p>For questions and/or comments, please email <a href="mailto:RegionStat@oecd.org">RegionStat@oecd.org</a>.</p>