According to the NSW Department of Primary Industries (DPI) State Seasonal Update, drought conditions are likely to expand across parts of NSW by August.

Despite recent rainfall, drought conditions are expected to continue in the south of the state in areas with longer-term rainfall deficits and further expand into western and central NSW.

In the latest forecast, Hay township and areas north of Hay, including Ivanhoe, remain outside of drought declared areas.

The majority of the rest of the Riverina, east of Hay is drought declared, and the forecast predicts worsening conditions for the far west, including Menindee, Broken Hill and White Cliffs.

The DPI modelling predicts Balranald and Wentworth regions will slip further into drought. Since May, Balranald township has moved from the recovering category, into drought affected.

According to DPI, the continued drought conditions are due to the likelihood that above median rainfall will not be enough to improve the underlying Plant Growth Index.

In NSW, drought conditions are categorised using the Combined Drought Indicator (CDI), which assesses rainfall, soil water, and plant growth to determine drought status.

The CDI categorises conditions as Non-Drought, Recovering, Drought Affected, Drought, and Intense Drought.

A region is considered in "Drought" when any of the three CDI indicators falls below the fifth percentile.

"Intense Drought" occurs when all three indicators are below the 5th percentile.

"Drought Affected" indicates at least one indicator is below the 30th percentile, with a negative rainfall trend over the past 90 days.