Widespread good rainfall and less hot temperatures supported a strong recovery of key indicators of Australia’s environment, reaching values not seen for several years.
Numbers represent the relative change from 2000-2020 average conditions. Such a change can be part of a long-term trend or be within normal variability. Details on each of the indicators shown are provided in this report.
The National Environmental Condition Score (ECS) improved 4.0 points out of ten to reach 6.9 points. Scores improved in all states and territories.
The Environmental Condition Score is a score between 0 and 10 expressing condition relative to previous years. It is calculated as the average rankings of component scores (from top to bottom in the bar graph): inundation, streamflow (blue), vegetation growth, leaf area, soil protection, tree cover (green) and the number of hot
days (orange).
The best conditions occurred in Tasmania (TAS), New South Wales (NSW), Victoria (VIC) and the Australian Capital Territory (ACT). The largest improvements occurred in Western Australia (WA) and Tasmania. Less good but still above-average conditions occurred in the Northern Territory and South Australia.
