Wetter Changes to Global Soil Moisture in May 2025

Climate Impact Company AG Round-up

Issued: Friday June 6, 2025

Highlight: Wetter changes to global soil moisture in May 2025.

Fig. 1: Global soil moisture anomalies for May 2025 according to NOAA/CPC and annotated 3-month trend/change.

Discussion: Global soil moisture trend during the past 3 months was overwhelmingly much wetter on each continent. Most notable was the expansion of wet soils across East and South Asia especially India. A much wetter change was observed across Japan. In Australia, the southwest and southeast corner were drier while the remainder of the Australian East Coast to northern areas were much wetter. South Africa and tropical eastern Africa shifted wetter. The wetter change across South Africa was dramatic. The Northwest Africa drought eased and Spain to Northern Italy shifted wetter. The immediate Black Sea region was (also) wetter. Dry concerns in East Europe/Southwest Russia eased while Western Europe shifted drier. In North America, widespread wetter changes were observed across North and Southeast Canada. In the U.S., wetter changes emerged across the Interior West and much of the East. In South America, dry soil changes dominated Brazil while wetter changes were observed in Argentina to Peru. During the past 3 months, ENSO shifted to neutral phase. The IOD pattern was neutral to weak positive much of the past 3 months recently shifting to negative phase. Mid-latitude SSTA is very warm with large marine heatwaves established and strengthening over the west-central to east-central North Pacific, emerging in the western North Atlantic, ongoing off Southwest Europe and the Mediterranean Sea while continuing in the Gulf of Mexico. Marine heatwaves stretch across the South Pacific either side of Australia. However, the very warm global ocean signature on June 1^st is moderately cooler than 1 year ago.