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| Combined Drought Indicator NSW Dept. of Primary Industries Click on image to enlarge |
As of 14 October 2023 est. 40 per cent of the NSW North Coast from Port Macquarie-Hastings to the NSW-Qld border is "Drought Affected".
Another 44.2 per cent is in "Drought" and, a further 15.6 per cent is experiencing "Intense Drought".
The Northern Rivers regions local government areas with the most land classified as in "Intense Drought" are Clarence Valley and Richmond Valley.
Typically intense drought field conditions are; Ground cover is very low, soil moisture stores are exhausted and rainfall been minimal over the past 6-12 months.
The Rainfall Index across these valleys has been dropping since the beginning of May 2023 and generally a lessening of soil moisture has been occurring since April.
The Soil Water Index (SWI) with a range of 0 to 100 is now falling alarmingly in sections of these valleys.
As an example, Taloumbi & Harwood parishes in the Clarence Valley and Coraki & Richmond parishes in the Richmond Valley - all designated as in intense drought - had SWIs of 0 on 14 October 2033.
While Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) forecasting indicates that heat may be an issue going forward.
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| BOM, screenshot,10 Oct 2023 |
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