By October, late rice was maturing in Southern China. According to the regional NDVI profile, crop condition was generally below the 5-year average, but reached close to average levels in September during the peak season of late rice. 

On average, rainfall reached 1235 mm, which was 3% higher than the average; provincial departures were as follows: +26% in Yunnan, +5% in Guangxi, -17% in Guangdong, and -22% in Fujian. In Yunnan and Guangxi, RAIN exceeded 1100 mm, while in Fujian it was less than 800 mm. The average temperature during the monitoring period in Southern China was 22.7 °C, which was above average by 0.1°C. The average VCIx of the Southern China region during the monitoring period was 0.94, and almost all regions presented above 0.80 VCIx during this monitoring period. BIOMSS was 5% below average. The biomass indices of Yunnan, Guangxi, Guangdong and Fujian were below average by 12%, 9% 2%, and 5%, respectively. At the provincial level, biomass changes followed RADPAR patterns. Below average sunshine during rice heading and grain filling stages deteriorated rice yield formation and excessive rainfall increases the risk of pest and disease damage. 

NDVI departure clustering analysis reveals that the continuously below-average crop conditions were mostly located in Yunnan, Guangxi, and Guangdong Province, covering 62.2% of the total cropland area. The above-mentioned patterns are also confirmed by the BIOMASS map. Only a few areas in Guangdong and Fujian were slightly higher than the average.

Overall, the crop conditions during the monitoring period were below average for this region.

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Figure.2 Time series rainfall profile

(b) Time series temperature profile

(c) Maximum VCI

(d) Potential biomass departure from 5YA

(e) Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles