North West Local Land Services

On-ground conditions are variable the region.

• The Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) shows that the majority of the region is in the Non-Drought (94%) category at the end of November.
• Parts of the region transitioned into the Drought Affected category during November, due to a decline in the Rainfall Index values. Soil Water and Plant Growth values have also declined in some areas.
• Rainfall in November was variable. There were isolated heavy storms in some parts, and widespread rainfall received at the end of November, which will aid continued recovery across the region. The influence of the rainfall at the end of November will be captured in the next Update.
• Some locations are monitoring feed, and water supplies due to warmer temperatures throughout much of November.
• The drought forecast suggests that the region will be in the Non-Drought category by the end of February 2025.

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Normalised Difference Vegetation Index

Plant greenness levels remain above average for most of the region for the September to November period.

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 remain high across the region.

• Although still high, there has been a decline in the Rainfall Index (RI) values over November in some regions.
• Lower RI values are due to a longer-term rainfall deficiency. Further rainfall will aid the improvement in conditions and maintain the positive production outlooks for many locations.

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