South-East Local Land Services

Conditions remain variable across the region.

• April rainfall was highly variable, with below average falls in the northwest and above average totals in the east and south.
• Lower than normal rainfall has led to a decline in conditions since the last Update, with further areas now in the NSW CDI Drought Affected category.
• On ground reports highlight the continued variability in conditions across the region. Some areas received good follow-up rainfall, improving production outlooks. Other areas continue to manage longer-term drought conditions.
• Producers are closely monitoring forecasts and implementing farm management strategies in line with current conditions and forecast outlooks.
• The drought forecast suggests that further regions will likely transition into 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 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 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

Variable conditions continue across the region as reflected in the drought indicators.

• For some locations, particularly in the south and west, the underlying drought indicator values have declined or continue to remain low (such as Goulburn, Cooma or in the Breadalbane region).
• Other areas continue to experience an improvement in the indicators and remain in the Recovery category (such as Bega).
• Further rainfall is needed to improve conditions in the south, and maintain positive production outlooks in other parts of the region.

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