Western Local Land Services

Conditions generally remain steady across the region; decline in conditions in the south.

• January rainfall was below average to very much below average across the region. Some locations received below 5mm of rainfall for the month.
• The region in the Drought Affected category has expanded, since the last update. Further follow-up rainfall will be critical to see improvements in the underlying drought indicators in the south of the region.
• On ground reports suggest surface water supplies are very low in the southern parts of the region, with producers monitoring stock numbers and feed budgets closely for the remainder of summer and into autumn.
• Areas around Bourke have experienced a short-term drying trend, with producers carefully managing stocking rates. Parts of the Bourke region transitioned into the Drought Affected category during January.
• Producers continue to monitor forecasts closely and adjust their summer enterprise management strategies accordingly. 
• The drought forecast suggests the area in the Drought Affected category will remain by the end of April 2025. The DPIRD continues to closely monitor conditions in this region.

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

Normalised Difference Vegetation Index

Plant greenness levels are variable across the region for the November to January 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.

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

Individual Drought Indicators

Rainfall deficits contributing to the decline in the Drought indicators across the region.

• There has been a rapid decline in the Rainfall Index (RI) at Bourke, Broken Hill and Ivanhoe over the past month.
• Although the three regions remain in the Non-Drought category, some parishes (north west of Bourke) have transitioned into the Drought Affected category over the past month due to decline in the RI values. Further rainfall is critical to ensure more regions do not transition into the Drought Affected category.
• In the south, the underlying indicators remain low for many regions, including the Wentworth region.
• Rainfall will be crucial to maintain or improve production conditions for the remainder of summer and into autumn.

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