Riverina Local Land Services

Conditions remain challenging and decline further in the east of the region.

• Below to very much below average rainfall during April for much of the region. along with above average temperatures. This has resulted in an expansion of area classified to be in the NSW CDI Drought category during the month.
• Conditions in the east of the region remain challenging. Management of soil moisture and farm water supply remain a consideration for many producers.
• Producers across the region are monitoring forecasts closely to assist with management decisions for the remainder of autumn and into winter.
• The drought forecast suggests that drought conditions will expand and most of the region will likely be in the Drought Affected CDI category by the end of July (with low to high model agreement and low to high past accuracy).
• 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 remain variable across the region for the February to April 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

Drought indicators continue to remain low in the east of the region.

• Variable rainfall across the region has not been sufficient to trigger a response in the underlying indicators for much of the region.
• Substantial rainfall is needed to promote an improvement in conditions across many areas.

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