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New figures prove that rainfall in some areas of the country hit a record low last month.
In March, virtually no rain fell from Golden Bay across to Nelson and down the South Island's East Coast from Marlborough to Southland.
Wellington through to central Hawkes Bay are also tinder dry.
"It follows on from quite a dry January and February in some of those places so it's been a really strong drought through central New Zealand and into Northern Canterbury and down the coast," says Dr Jim Renwick of NIWA.
It has been perfect for the beach in Wellington and Nelson but farmers are hurting.
The drought has run rivers dry and lifted the fire risk to extreme. Marlborough farmers burnt out by the Boxing Day fires are left wondering when they will get some respite.
The cause is the La Nina weather pattern.
Persistent anticyclones also known as blocking highs brought dry settled conditions to most of the country and cooler easterlies in the north.
But there is some hope on the horizon for parched farmers and their stock.
"For the rest of the autumn and going into the winter we're looking at the La Nina essentially disappearing and we're expecting a return to something like normal conditions within the next couple of months," Renwick says.
It will take several months of normal rainfall in the drought-stricken regions to bring soil conditions back to normal.
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