The monitoring period (October 2020 to January 2021) covers the planting and early growth stages of winter wheat in Huanghuaihai.

Agro-climatic indicators showed that both precipitation and radiation decreased by 3% and temperature fell by 0.2℃ compared to the 15YA, which led to a 16% drop in BIOMSS compared to the 15YA. Wet and cold weather may influence the development of winter crops. The CALF exceeded 13% compared to the 5YA. The VCIx value was 0.91.

The NDVI profiles showed that crop growth in the Huanghuaihai region was below the average level for most of the monitoring period except period from late November to mid-December. As shown by NDVI clusters and profiles, 14.7% of cropland over northern Anhui and eastern Henan were positive. 19.8% of cropland over Northern and southern Shandong were negative, indicating that crops in this area were in poor condition.

The maps of maximum VCI showed a similar trend to the spatial NDVI patterns. Overall, crop conditions in Huanghuaihai region during the monitoring period were more favorable in the southern and eastern part.

Figure 4.9 Crop condition China Huanghuaihai, October 2020 - January 2021

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI        (b) Maximum VCI                (c) Potential biomass departure from 15YA

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