During this monitoring period, only winter crops such as wheat and rapeseed were in the field, essentially in the north of the region, including parts of Hubei, Henan, Anhui, and Jiangsu provinces. No crops were growing in the field in Fujian, the southern Jiangxi, and Hunan provinces.

According to the CropWatch agroclimatic indicators, the Lower Yangtze region experienced a dryer season compared to the 15YA, with accumulated precipitation at 23% below average. The temperature and photosynthetically active radiation were slightly above average (TEMP 1.3 ℃ , RADPAR 1%). The agroclimatic conditions resulted in average biomass production potential compared to the 15YA. As shown in the NDVI development graph, crop conditions were slightly below the 5-year average. Only 38.5% of the area, primarily distributed in the north of this region, including Jiangsu, Anhui, Hubei, and Henan provinces, showed slightly better crop conditions than the 5YA. NDVI in the remaining areas presented below-average levels. The potential biomass departure map showed that most places in this region had positive anomalies up to 20%, especially in the Hubei and Henan province. The average VCIx of this region is 0.91, and most area had VCIx values ranging from 0.8 to 1.

The crop conditions in the Lower Yangtze region are currently assessed as close to but below average.

Figure 4.x Crop condition Lower Yangtze region,  January 2021 - April 2021

a Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

b Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles

c Maximum VCI                                     d Potential biomass departure from 15YA