Greater Sydney Local Land Services

Drought conditions continue to impact parts of the region.

• The Combined Drought Indicator (CDI) shows that the region is in the Drought or Drought Affected category. Approximately 95% of the region is in one of the drought categories at the end of March.
• The area in the Drought category has expanded since the previous Update, due to rainfall over the past few months being below to very much below average across the region.
• Continued follow up rain will be needed to aid longer-term improvement in conditions.
• Producers continue to monitor forecasts closely and implement drought management strategies as required for their farm enterprises, particularly heading into mid-Autumn.
• The NSW DPI 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 (NDVI)

There has been an improvement in plant greenness values over the last several months and many areas now have above normal plant greenness levels.

• Areas with below average levels of greenness indicate low levels of ground cover and standing dry matter available for livestock.
• Some of the extremely negative NDVI areas (brown patches) are water bodies.

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Individual Drought Indicators

Drought indicators remain variable across the regions.

• The Drought History charts show the individual response of the drought indicators for Camden, Gosford and Richmond.
• Camden continues to have a strong Plant Growth Index (PGI) however the region remains in the Drought Affected category due to low values for the Rainfall Index (RI) and Soil Water Index (SWI). Further rainfall is needed to improve conditions in the region.
• Gosford remains in the Drought category. Although the PGI is high (and likely reflected in good plant growth on the ground), the SWI and RI values are very low. Rainfall is critical to ensure the PGI values do not decline over the coming weeks.
• The Richmond region remains in the Drought Affected category. Further rainfall is needed to aid the continued improvement in conditions in the region.
• To access a Drought History chart for your Parish, visit the Seasonal Conditions Information Portal.