During this reporting period, the seedling and transplanting phases of early rice in Southern China were covered. According to the regional NDVI  profile, the crop conditions were close to average.

According to the CropWatch agro-climatic indicators, the RAIN was 368 mm, which was 2% below the 15-year average, and the TEMP was 1.4℃ higher than the 15-year average. Solar radiation was higher than the 15YA average (RADPAR, +3%). Insufficient sunlight and high temperatures resulted in a decrease of 7% in potential biomass production. The potential biomass departure map showed that the potential biomass in the southwestern part of Yunnan and the southern part of Southern China was 20% lower than average, while the rest were higher than the average level.

Based on the NDVI departure clustering map and profiles, it was found that NDVI values of most parts of southern China were close to or slightly lower than the average level.  It is worth mentioning that the heavy rainfall in April led to severe flooding in the central part of Guangdong, causing some early rice crops to be destroyed by floods. The NDVI in this area was significantly lower than the average level, covering approximately 6.8% of the cropland in Southern China. The average VCIx of this region was 0.89, and most of the area had VCIx values ranging from 0.8 to 1. The cropped arable land fraction remained consistent with previous years. The region's CPI was 0.99, higher than the same period last year and the 5YA.  

In general, the crop conditions in Southern China were close to average.

Figure 4.15 Crop condition Southern China region, January - April 2024

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(b) Time series rainfall pofile

(c) Time series temperature pofile

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

(f) Potential biomass departure from 5YA

(g) Maximum VCI