Central Tablelands Local Land Services

Conditions remain generally stable across the region.   

• Rainfall throughout January has continued to maintain or improve conditions across most of the region.
• Further rainfall will ensure that the production outlook remains positive for the remainder of summer and into autumn.
• Areas in the east recently transitioned into the Recovery category, following a brief decline in conditions. This was driven by a decrease in the Rainfall Index. Continued rainfall will aid longer-term recovery in these regions.
• The drought forecast suggests that the region will likely see a decline of conditions by 30 April 2025, with parts of the region transitioning into the Drought Affected category (with low to moderate model agreement).

Click on the scroll bar below the map to compare with previous months.

Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

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

Some of the extremely negative NDVI areas (brown patches) are water bodies or from the influence of forestry operations.

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.

Individual drought indicators

Drought indicators remain generally steady across the region.

• December and January rainfall has maintained the drought indicators across the Bathurst and Cowra regions.
• There has been a slight decline in the indicators in the Mudgee region.
• The production outlook remains positive across much of the region.

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