The Enhanced Drought Information System (EDIS) was developed by the Department in 2016 to monitor drought to improve the awareness, monitoring and forecasting of seasonal conditions across NSW. Since 2018, EDIS has been used to monitor seasonal conditions, including the major drought event from 2017-2020, and supplying regional level information for many stakeholders.
A key feature of EDIS is the NSW Combined Drought Indicator (NSW-CDI). The NSW-CDI integrates meteorological, hydrological and agronomic definitions of drought using indexes for Rainfall (RI), Soil Water (SWI) and Plant Growth (PGI). From these, a fourth index, the Drought Direction Index (DDI), is developed. Used together, these indices classify the five categories of drought. For more information see “Understanding the CDI Phases”.
The NSW-CDI is reported at a parish level, which is a composite of 10-20 farms. The underlying monitoring of conditions occurs at 1km2 resolution (ANUClimate), which is currently the best available data for tracking climatic condition across NSW.
The NSW-CDI is a long-term drought indicator which tracks events that are at least 9-12 months in duration. It is not overly sensitive to short term climatic events and for this reason can lag field conditions. Other short term drought indicators are used and reported in the NSW State Seasonal Update. Trends in the NSW-CDI indicators over time can point to the occurrence of short term drying or wetting events.
The NSW-CDI is one source of information that informs policy and Government responses to changing seasonal conditions, including drought. The NSW-CDI is one of many sources of information that can be used to target NSW Government programs.
Data can be obtained by establishing a third-party license agreement with the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development. Depending on data use, administration and commercial fees may apply.
A range of products are also available on the Seasonal Conditions Information Portal.
For more information contact seasonal.conditions@dpird.nsw.gov.au.