In Huanghuaihai, themain crop—winter wheat—will be harvested in two months. As shown by the NDVIdevelopment graph, crop condition was generally below the five-year averageduring the monitoring period and worse than the previous year. The overallsituation, however, appears to be average in most of the region, as shown bythe spatial NDVI patterns; crop condition was below average in northernTianjin, southern Hebei, eastern Shandong, and northern Jiangsu. Besides, partsof Henan and Shandong were above average in January but deteriorated inFebruary. Satisfactory crop condition can be also inferred from the prevailingagroclimatic conditions in Huanghuaihai: 23 percent above average rainfall,0.5°C above average temperature, and 1 percent above average PAR, resulting ina large improvement in the biomass production potential (35 percent). Themaximum VCI presents high values in eastern Hebei and northern Shandong, whilelow values occur in central and eastern Henan. Overall, favorable climaticconditions will greatly benefit the development of winter wheat and the sowingof the next season crop.

Figure4.11. Crop condition China Huanghuaihai, January-April 2016

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(b) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA

                                                                     (c) NDVI profiles

(d) Maximum VCI

                                                                                                                       (e) Biomass