Crops in France show mixed condition over the reporting period. Currently, winter wheat and spring barley have been harvested, while maize is in the vegetative stage. At the national level, compared with average, CropWatch agroclimatic indicators show that the reporting period recorded a 9% decrease in RAIN, a 0.2°C decrease in TEMP, and a significant 8% below average RADPAR. BIOMSS presents a 3% decrease compared to the five-year average. As shown by the crop condition development graph, national NDVI values were well above average and even above the five-year maximum from early April to late May due to sufficient rainfall and favorable temperature. National NDVI values began to drop below average from June—dropping even below last year’s values, which is consistent with the occurrence of sudden flooding from late May to early June. Next to floods in the eastern half of the country (except its very south), drought and high temperature occurred in some areas over the reporting period, such as RAIN values of -23%from Pays de Loire to Poitou-Charentes (maize, barley, and rapeseed zone), -26%in Basse Bretagne to Haute Normandie (maize and barley), -19% from Limousin tothe northwest of Rhone-Alpes, and -23% in both the southwestern maize zone(Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées) and the Mediterranean area. The spatial NDVI patterns compared to the five-year average and corresponding NDVI departure cluster profiles also indicate that NDVI is above average in winter crop areas andbelow average from June in summer crop areas. This spatial pattern is reflected by the maximum VCI in the different areas, with a VCIx of 0.93 for France overall. Generally, the agronomic indicators mentioned above show favorable condition for most winter crop areas but less favorable condition for some summer crop areas due to excess water.

Figure3.13. France crop condition, April-July2016

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI                      (b)Maximum VCI

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