The sowing of winter wheat in Kyrgyzstan was completed in October. During the months of October to January, the CropWatch agro-climatic indicators RADPAR (+3%) and TEMP (+0.1°C) were slightly above average, while RAIN was below average (-25%). The combination of these factors resulted in a decreased estimate for BIOMSS (-14%) compared to the fifteen-year average. As shown by the NDVI development graph, the vegetation conditions were below average during October and November and improved to above average for the rest of the monitoring period.  This might be due to the above-average temperatures observed between November and January. In terms of the spatial NDVI clustering profile, 15.5% of the cultivated area (marked in light green) showed below-average crop conditions until mid December and gradually recovered to close-to-average conditions. 39.6% of the cultivated area (marked in orange) had close-to-average crop conditions throughout the whole monitoring period, mainly located in northern Issyk-Kul, northern Osh, southern Jalal-Abad, and central Talas. The remaining areas improved to above-average conditions starting in December. The spatial pattern of maximum Vegetation Condition Index (VCIx) was in accord with the spatial distribution of the NDVI profiles. The national average VCIx was 0.73. Agro-climatic and agronomic conditions were mixed with CALF at 12%, 30% below average. Overall, the lack of rainfall during the early growing stage of crops from November to December and the substantial decrease in CALF indicate unfavorable crop conditions in Kyrgyzstan.

Figure 3.25 Kyrgyzstan's crop condition, October 2021 to January 2022

(a) Crop phenology

(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(c) Maximum VCI

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

(f) Time series rainfall profile

(g) Time series temperature profile

Table x. Kyrgyzstan agro-climatic indicators, current season's values and departure from 15YA, October 2021 to January 2022

Table x. Kyrgyzstan agronomic indicators, current season's values and departure from 5YA, October 2021 to January 2022