The New Zealand Drought Index (NZDI) map above shows dry to very dry conditions in some coastal areas as of 20 January, especially along the upper West Coast and Tasman. 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.