The State’s Department of Primary Industries has declared the Newcastle local government area is now formally in drought.
It comes of the back of recordings from the Combined Drought Indicator, which measures rainfall, soil moisture and other factors and when any of those fall below 30 per cent – a drought is declared.
The news comes almost two months after other areas of the Hunter, including Dungog, Port Stephens and Maitland, were given the declaration back in early August.
16.7 per cent of the Hunter region is now declared as being In Drought, and 83.3 per cent of the region is Drought Affected.
The increase in drought conditions also comes following a declaration from the Bureau of Meteorology of an El Nino climate pattern, which is driving the south east of the country into an extreme hot and dry summer.