No crops are in the field in Inner Mongolia from late of October to January due to low temperatures. However, weather conditions are relevant, in particular rainfall, as they control initial soil moisture available to spring sown crops. In October, below average conditions had little effect as the crops had reached maturity.

The reporting period recorded 47 mm of precipitation, which is 42% below the average of 82 mm. Although the deficit is large, it is not severe in terms of agricultural impacts, nor is the resulting drop in potential biomass accumulation (BIOMSS -31%.) Both sunshine and temperature were above average (RADPAR 3%, TEMP 0.7°C.)

VCIx was below 0.5 in the west and southeast; the observation is consistent with the potential biomass distribution (values more than 10% below average). In general, however, less snow may not be able to provide adequate soil moisture for the land preparation and early growth of 2019 spring crops.

Figure