From late 2009 to 2010, southwestern China experienced a severe drought. We evaluated the self-organisation of a seasonal tropical rainforest in response to drought stress. The forest had the least self-organization in 2010, and during the dry season (March–April) of 2010, the forest was least able to capture exergy (Rn/DR). The rate of long wave radiation (I/DR) loss was highest in 2010. The thermal response number of canopy temperature (TRNc) and Rn/DR showed similar trends and decreased from the rainy season to the dry seasons in each of the three years.