Winter wheat is the predominant crop during this monitoring period in this region. Winter wheat sowing was started in September and completed in October. During the monitoring period, the crop conditions were close to the 5YA.

The CropWatch Agroclimatic Indicators (CWAIs) show that rainfall (RAIN) was above average by 113%, temperature (TEMP) decreased by 0.1°C, and radiation (RADPAR) was reduced by 4% compared to the 15YA. Benefited from significantly higher precipitation, the potential biomass (BIOMSS) was above average by 31%.According to the regional NDVI development graph, crop conditions in the Loess Region has been slightly below the 5YA since November 2021 after emergence. The region experienced record-breaking rainfall in early October, which triggered devastating floods and landslides in the Shaanxi and Shanxi provinces. Heavy rainfall in some areas continued for about 15 days, causing significant delay in winter wheat sowing, but the total planted area of summer crops were less affected, with the area decreasing by 1 percent in Shaanxi and 2 percent in Shanxi. NDVI clusters and profiles show that crop conditions in most part of the region were close to average. In eastern Gansu, southern Shaanxi, southern Shanxi and northwestern Henan (accounting for 8.9% of the total cropland area), the crop conditions were always lower than the average level. The average VCIx was 0.97 in the whole region; CALF was at 84%, higher than the average level but lower than the same period last year.

All in all, the Loess Region's overwintering crop conditions were close to average, despite the winter wheat sowing date being postponed in some areas of Shanxi and Shaanxi provinces.

Figure.a Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

Figure.b Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles

Figure.c Time series rainfall profile

Figure.d Time series temperature profile

Figure.e Maximum VCI

Figure.f Potential biomass departure from 5YA

Figure.g Proportion of NDVI anomaly categories compared with 5YA