During this monitoring period, harvest of winter wheat and rapeseed was concluded by June in Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. The semi-late and late rice crops are still growing in the south and the center of the region including Jiangsu, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei provinces, while early rice has been harvested. 

According to the CropWatch agro-climatic indicators, the Lower Yangtze region experienced a wetter and warmer season compared to the 15YA. The accumulated precipitation from late May to early July was significantly above average and was 8% more than the long-term average in this region. The temperature and photosynthetically active radiation were both slightly above average (TEMP +0.1 ℃, RADPAR +0.5%). Above average agro-climatic conditions resulted in a slightly positive departure of biomass production potential. However, the continuous rainfall in the upper stream of the Yangtze River and heavy rainfall in June to early July had led to flooding which destroyed some fields along the Huaihe River. For details, please refer to the impact analysis of flood disaster in the lower Yangtze region in section xxx.

As shown in the NDVI development graph, crop conditions were quite below the 5-year average from late May to July, which coincided with the period of continuous rainfall. As a result of flooding, the vegetation index nearby Poyang Lake and also in the south of Poyang Lake was significantly lower in early June and early July. The areas bordering the Huaihe River were affected by floods in the middle and late July, and crop growth was significantly lower than the 5-year average. According to the Biomass departure, in the Yangtze River basin and its northern regions, continuous precipitation and low photosynthetically active radiation led to lower potential biomass compared to 15YA. The low VCIx area was consistent with the flood impact area. The VCIx in Chuzhou of Anhui, Jingzhou of Hubei and Changde of Hunan was higher than 1, which indicated that sufficent precipitation was favorable for the growth of crops in the above mentioned areas, and the growth conditions exceeded the best of the past 5 years.

The crop condition in the lower Yangtze region is currently assessed as below average level. The continuously rainy and cloudy weather and localized flooding were detrimental to agricultural production.

Figure 4.15 Crop condition Lower Yangtze region, April-July 2020

（a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI                          (b) Time series rainfall pofile

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

                 (e) Maximum VCI                                                              (f) Biomass departure