Chapter 2 presents the same indicators—RAIN, TEMP, RADPAR, and BIOMSS— as those used in Chapter 1, and combines them with the agronomic indicators—cropped arable land fraction (CALF), maximum vegetation condition index (VCIx),  minimum vegetation health index (VHIn), and Cropping Intensity (CI)— to describe crop condition in six Major Production Zones (MPZ) across all continents. For more information about these zones and methodologies used, see the quick reference guide in Annex B as well as the CropWatch bulletin online resources at http://www.cropwatch.com.cn/htm/en/bullAction!showBulletin.action#.

2.1 Overview

Tables 2.1 and 2.2 present an overview of the agroclimatic (Table 2.1) and agronomic (Table 2.2) indicators for each of the six MPZs, comparing the indicators to their fifteen-year and five-year averages, respectively. The text mostly refers simply to "average" with the averaging period implied.

Table 2.1 Agroclimatic indicators by Major Production Zone, current value and departure from 15YA (July-October 2023)

Note: Departures are expressed in relative terms (percentage) for all variables, except for temperature, for which absolute departure in degrees Celsius is given. Zero means no change from the average value; relative departures are calculated as (C-R)/R*100, with C=current value and R=reference value, which is the fifteen-year average (15YA) for the same period (July-October) for 2008-2022.

Table2.2 Agronomic indicators by Major Production Zone, current season values and departure from 5YA (July-October 2023)

Note: See note for Table 2.1, with reference value R defined as the five-year average (5YA) for the same period (July-Octo