The reporting period is the planting and growing season of rice and maize. As per CropWatch agroclimatic indicators, the crop condition for the MPZ is average. During the monitoring period rainfall (RAIN) was 12% above average, with increases in Thailand (+9.4%) and Cambodia (+29%), Bangladesh (+19%), India (+12%), and Vietnam (+12%). The excess rainfall in these areas caused floods and damaged crops. While the biomass accumulation potential (BIOMSS) increased by 3%--probably due to the excess rainfall, temperature remained average in the MPZ. The photosynthetically active radiation (RADPAR) dropped 4% as compared to average. Meanwhile, maximum VCI value ranged from 0.5 to 1, pointing at average to favorable crop condition. In southern India and in some parts of Vietnam, however, maximum VCI values remained below 0.5, indicating poor crop condition. No change was observed in the region’s fraction of cropped arable land (CALF), which was 95% during the monitoring period. The non-cropped areas are distributed mainly in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Haryana, and in southern Vietnam. The cropping intensity of the MPZ was 157%, 6% below the the previous five years’ average. Low values of VHI minimum were recorded in parts of Vietnam, the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Orissa and Punjab, pointing to water stress in these areas linked to deficit rainfall.

Overall the crop condition is average in the MPZ, in spite of severe floods in India, Myanmar, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Thailand.