The most relevant crop during the monitoring period was the currently hibernating Winter wheat. Crop condition was generally inferior to last year' s and the five year average except for late January. Precipitation (RAIN -18%) was below average, and so was temperature (TEMP -0.3°C); radiation (RADPAR +2%) was slightly above average. The unfavorable agro-climatic condition resulted in below average potential biomass (BIOMSS, -18%). In most of the region, the analyses based on spatial NDVI clusters and profiles are consistent with VCIx: the most favorable conditions prevail in the center and east of Gansu province, and some parts in southern Ningxia and north-central Shaanxi, due to the relatively abundant rainfall. The cropped arable land fraction (CALF) decreased by 1% compared with recent years, which shows somewhat unfavorable crop prospect in the region..

Figure 4.8. Crop condition China Loess region, October 2018 to January 2019

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(b) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA                  (c) NDVI profiles

(d) Maximum VCI                                             (e) Biomass