During the current monitoring period, the sowing of winter crops was completed in the Central Europe to Western Russia MPZ under generally unfavorable weather conditions. In this MPZ it was drier and colder than usual,with a 29% decrease in rainfall and a 0.6°C drop of temperature, although PAR displayed an increase of 3%.

As indicated by the rainfall profiles, the western part of the MPZ (including Romania, Belarus, Poland and western Ukraine) showed a significant rainfall deficit in July and August while a diffuse peak occurred in Kirovskaya Oblast, Komi-permyatskiy Okrug and Permskaya Oblast in Russia in mid-August and early October.Temperatures in Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Belarus, and western Russia decreasedfrom west to east, with lowest temperatures in Russia and eastern Ukraine. Thes carce rainfall led to a significant drop in potential biomass for the whole MPZ (-20% compared to the five-year average). On the distribution map of the potential biomass, a large positive biomass departure would be expected onlyfor the central and western part of the MPZ.

Accordingly, the VHI-based drought map shows the worst moisture condition to be in the Southern parts of Western Russia and eastern Romania compared to the previous monitoring period, which is confirmed by the Maximum VCI distribution map. 92% of the arable land was cropped from July to August 2015, at the same level as the five-year average. Generally, crop condition of the Central Europe to Western Russia MPZ was unfavorable throughout this monitoring period. Figure2.6 shows the agroclimatic and agronomic indicators for this reporting period.

Figure 2.6. Central Europe-WesternRussia MPZ: Agroclimatic and agronomic indicators, July-October 2015