Australian Rainfall Deficiency Analyser

For all enquiries, go to the Australian Government Drought Concessional Loans Scheme

Please note that the latitude and longitude coordinates entered will be rounded to the nearest 0.05°. A coordinate of x.xx5° will always be rounded up, for example 143.024° will be rounded down to 143° while 143.025° will be rounded up to 143.05°.

Notes about the rainfall deficiency maps

Rainfall deficiency is used to describe the situation where there has been less rainfall over a given period (in this case any period between 12 and 24 months in the latest two year period), when compared with similar periods over the whole historical record (since 1900).

A 1 in 20 rainfall event is an indication of how many times such low rainfall would be likely to occur at a location in a 20 year period: so for every 20 years you could expect to get low rainfall like this just once. This is also, more accurately, known as being at or below the 5^th percentile (or within the lowest 5% of rainfall records). Similarly a 1 in 10 rainfall event is used to show where rainfall is at or below the 10^th percentile (or within the lowest 10% of rainfall records).

Rainfall deficiency data are calculated from the Bureau of Meteorology's (the Bureau) national Australian Water Availability Project (AWAP) gridded rainfall dataset. The AWAP dataset provides a nationally consistent, long-term record of rainfall which includes observed rainfall data from 1900 to present. National rainfall deficiency datasets are produced on a monthly basis at approximately five kilometre horizontal resolution.

The Bureau analyses rainfall for all 91 potential periods, between 12 and 24 months long, in each two year assessment period for every individual grid cell across Australia. The analysis determines which grid cells have recorded a rainfall value at or below the 1 in 20, or 1 in 10 year rainfall deficiency thresholds.

The map displays the lowest rainfall percentiles recorded for every grid cell over all of the 91 potential periods assessed.

Disclaimer

Use of this website is subject to the following conditions:

• This website is operated by the Bureau of Meteorology (Bureau) in support of the Drought Concessional Loans Scheme (Scheme). You may use this website to generate a Rainfall Deficiency Report to assist you with your application for a loan under the Scheme. The Bureau is not responsible for administering the Scheme, and does not make the decision as to a person's eligibility for a Loan. If you have any queries relating to the Scheme or your eligibility for a Loan, please contact the agency in your State or Territory that will assess your application. The Bureau accepts no responsibility for any views which may be expressed by any agency.
• The website also displays a rainfall deficiency summary map (Map), which is generated by the Bureau for the sole purpose of illustrating, in summary form, those areas of Australia that are likely to meet the drought criterion for the purposes of the Scheme.
• The information contained in the Rainfall Deficiency Report and the Map includes estimates which are generated based on the rainfall record data available to the Bureau. The estimates are subject to data availability and the uncertainties of scientific and technical research and may not reflect actual rainfall at a particular location. To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Bureau excludes and disclaims all statutory or implied conditions, guarantees and warranties in relation to the Maps and reports displayed and generated from this website.
• The Bureau does not warrant that access to this website or any of its features will be uninterrupted, or that the services offered on the website will be error-free. The Bureau reserves the right to change or discontinue any feature on the website, the availability of the website and the equipment or software required for access to the website. If you are having any difficulty in accessing this website, you should contact the agency administering the Scheme in your State or Territory.
• To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Bureau excludes all liability for any loss or damage, including any consequential loss or indirect loss, loss of data or loss of profits, arising in relation to the use of this website (including the inability to use the website), whether or not it is caused by the Bureau's negligence, and whether or not the possibility of loss was known to the Bureau.
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