During this monitoring period, only winter crops like wheat and rapeseed were in the field, mostly in the north of the region, including parts in Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. Limited winter crops were planted in Fujian, the southern Jiangxi and Hunan provinces.

According to CropWatch agro-climatic indicators, the accumulated precipitation and temperature were 9% and 0.3℃ higher than the 15-year averages, respectively. The photosynthetically active radiation was slightly below average (RADPAR -2%) because of increased rainy days. The above average precipitation resulted in an 8% increase of biomass potential production compared to the 15YA. According to the NDVI-based crop development profiles, the crop growth was generally close to the average level during this period. The NDVI departure clustering analysis also reflected the overall normal crop growth condition, while 39.3% of the area, mostly distributed in the north of this region, including the southern Jiangsu, central Anhui, southern Henan and northern Hubei provinces, presented better crop conditions compared to the 5-year average. The crop condition in other areas was slightly below the average, including the central east of Jiangsu, the southern Anhui and the area around Poyang Lake in Jiangxi (light green area). However, the potential biomass departure map shews a different spatial pattern. Hubei presented lower than the average biomass, but the NDVI was higher than previous years, indicating the limited impact of unfavorable climatic conditions on crops. The average VCIx of this region was 0.92, and most area had VCIx values ranging from 0.8 to 1.

Overall, the crop conditions in the lower Yangtze region were normal.

Figure 4.10 Crop condition China Lower Yangtze region, October 2021 - January 2022

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI      (b) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA     (c) NDVI profiles

(d)Time series rainfall profile                                                                         (e)Time series temperature profile

(f) Maximum VCI                                                                                     (g) Biomass departure