The New Zealand Drought Index (NZDI) map shows very dry and extremely dry conditions in parts of the upper South Island and parts of the North Island as of 4 February 2019. A small area meeting the drought threshold has also emerged near Westport in Buller District. These areas will likely continue to worsen in the next week. Please note: some hotspots in the text above may not correspond with the NZDI map, mainly because the NZDI uses additional dryness indices including one which integrates the rainfall deficit over the past 60 days. Changes are therefore slower to appear in the NZDI compared to the instantaneous status maps of soil moisture anomaly.