Winter wheat, maize, and soybean are the main crops that grew in this monitoring period (April to July 2024) in Huanghuaihai. Agro-climatic indicators showed that precipitation (+33%), and temperature (+1.4°C) in this area were above the 15YA, but radiation (-1%) was below. Below-average precipitation between April and June caused a 6% decrease in crop biomass production potential. 

According to the NDVI development graph, crop growth was favorable since April, exceeding the maximum in early May due to above-average temperatures. However, prolonged heat and severe lack of rainfall led to a reduction in NDVI, but provided good conditions for wheat harvest. Most wheat in this region is irrigated, hence the precipitation deficit had only a small negative impact on wheat production. Abundant precipitation was observed in July which improved the soil moisture, benefiting maize early development. As the NDVI departure clustering map shows, the whole area of the cropland was below the average since late May due to periodic drought conditions. Only 15% of the cropped area in northern Anhui and central Shandong was negatively in growth affected by localized flooding, while it recovered quickly in the remaining areas after late June. The VCIx map showed that crop condition was negative around the Bohai Bay area and southeastern Shandong, while the rest of the region was close to the average.

The CALF was unchanged, and the maximum VCI value was 0.87. The Crop Production Index (CPI) is 0.99. In general, the overall crop conditions were normal and the abundant rains in July provided favorable conditions for the summer crops (maize, soybean and ground nut).

(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