Northern Tablelands Local Land Services

Longer-term rainfall deficits contribute to drought conditions in parts of the region.  

• Rainfall deficits across parts of the region over several months is driving the transition into the Drought Affected category for some areas.
• Other areas are maintaining a good production outlook, although producers are monitoring forecasts closely throughout summer.
• Warm temperatures and soil moisture will continue be a management consideration.
• The drought forecast suggests that the majority of region will likely be in the Non-Drought category by the end of March 2025.

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Normalised Difference Vegetation Index

Plant greenness levels remain variable across the region for the October to December period; anomalies remain below average for parts of the region.

Note that some of the extremely negative NDVI areas (brown patches) are water bodies.

The NDVI anomaly is a useful measure of vegetation density and plant health. It estimates the amount of green vegetation there is in the landscape compared to what is expected at the given time of year, against the baseline period 1987 - 2020.

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Individual Drought Indicators

Drought indicators are generally stable across the region.

• Further rainfall will be needed to continue the improvement in conditions and maintain production outlooks for many locations throughout summer.
• The sharp declines in the Rainfall Index indicate the emergence of short-term rainfall deficits in parts of the region.

To access a Drought History chart for your Parish, visit the Seasonal Conditions Information Portal.