Central West Local Land Services

Conditions remain positive, drying trend continues for parts of the region

• April rainfall was average to well below average across much of the region.
• Parts of the region have transitioned into the NSW CDI Drought Affected category during the month, with further expansion over the coming months likely.
• Drier conditions have meant the management of pastures, livestock health and cropping program decisions are becoming more crucial approaching winter.
• Continued rainfall will be important to ensure positive production outlooks are maintained into winter.
• The drought forecast suggests that parts of the region will likely be in the Non-Drought category out to 31 July 2025, with regions in the south and west transitioning into the Drought Affected category (with moderate to high model agreement and low to moderate past accuracy).

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Normalised Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI)

Plant greenness levels remain below average for parts of the region during the February to April 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 continue to remain high for many parts of the region.

• The production outlook remains positive for the remainder of autumn and entering winter.
• There is an underlying drying trend and decline in the indicators for some locations in the east and south of the region.
• This is due to a short to medium term rainfall deficit across parts of the region.

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