Maize in this area was harvested in late September and early-October, and winter wheat has been planted during the monitoring period. From the beginning of July, crop condition was worse than last year’s and below the five-year average. Temperature, precipitation and PAR were average, resulting in potential biomass just slightly below average (-5%).

The analysis of spatial NDVI clusters and profiles indicates that most of the area enjoyed  average crops (confirmed by the VCIx); the most favorable conditions occured mainly in the east of Shaanxi and the southwest of Shanxi before September, due to the abundant rainfall and suitable sunlight. On the contrary—and mostly because of drought in August (as confirmed by the maps of potential biomass), crops were in poor condition (compared to the five-year average) in the centre the provinces of Shanxi and Shaanxi. The crop condition in some areas was apparently below average in late September; however, this may be result from early harvest rather t