As of 14 April, the New Zealand Drought Index (NZDI) map below shows that dry and very dry conditions are found across much of the North Island as well as parts of the lower South Island. 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.