During this monitoring period, winter wheat and rapeseed had reached maturity by June in Hubei, Henan, Anhui and Jiangsu provinces. The semi-late and late rice crops are still growing in the south and the center of the region including Jiangsu, Fujian, Jiangxi, Hunan, and Hubei provinces, while early rice has been harvested.

According to the CropWatch agro-climatic indicators, the accumulated precipitation and temperature were 15% and 0.9℃ higher than the 15-year averages, respectively. The photosynthetically active radiation was below average (RADPAR -5%). The above-average precipitation and temperature resulted in an increase of biomass potential production by 2%, as compared to the 15YA.

As shown in the NDVI development graph, crop conditions in June were slightly below the 5-year average, while in the other months, it remained consistent with the 5YA. previous years. In the The northern part of this region, including Jiangsu, Anhui, Henan, accounts for approximately 21.1% of the total cultivated land in the region and Its the crop condition was above average level from April to May. The other areas were had slightly below the average level of crop condition compared to previous years. The potential biomass departure suggests that the agro-climatic conditions in most parts of the region were favorable. The potential biomass departure in In provinces like Anhui, Hubei, Jiangxi, and Fujian, the potential biomass departure was mostly above average (0% to 10%), while in some areas of Jiangsu, the biomass departure was slightly negative (-10% to 0%). The average VCIx of this region was 0.91, and most of the area had VCIx values ranging from 0.8 to 1. The current value of the crop production index (CPI) is 1.0, nearly matching last year's period the previous year and the 5-year average, signaling a normal crop production situation.

In general, the crop conditions in the Lower Yangtze region were normal.

Figure 4.8 Crop condition China Lower Yangtze region, April 2024 - July 2024

(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                                                                              (h) CPI time series chart