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New Zealand Drought Monitor

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The New Zealand Drought Monitor is a system for keeping track of drought conditions across New Zealand based on a standardised climate index.

The index, called the New Zealand Drought Index (NZDI), is a climate data-based indicator of drought based on four commonly-used climatological drought indicators: the Standardised Precipitation Index, the Soil Moisture Deficit, the Soil Moisture Deficit Anomaly, and the Potential Evapotranspiration Deficit. The index has five categories: Dry, Very Dry, Extremely Dry, Drought, and Severe Drought. It is presented as a map and as charts; updated daily (note, there is a two-day time delay to ensure all available data is used).

See more information on the NZDI

The charts below are aggregated by district. Some of the larger districts have been divided in half into eastern and western or northern and southern zones. View a map of New Zealand districts [PDF 500KB].

New Zealand Drought Index map

This map is updated daily. Contact us if you would like maps for a specific date(s). Maps can be provided for any date from 2007 onwards.

New Zealand Drought Index chart

Additional information

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