The current monitoring period (July to October) covered the peak of the summer crops in July until the harvest in September and October in northeast China. The crops, including maize, rice and soybeans, reached the maturity stage in August to September in Heilongjiang, Jilin and Liaoning provinces, and the harvest was mostly completed by the end of October. CropWatch Agroclimatic Indicators (CWAIs) show that the precipitation greatly deviated from the average level. The total precipitation increased by 30%( ΔRAIN+30%). It was above average from July to late August, especially in late July. The photosynthetically active radiation was below average (ΔRADPAR -3%), and the temperatures were above average (ΔTEMP +0.8°C). Altogether, the potential biomass was 5% above the fifteen-year average level.

The crop conditions during the monitoring period were in general, slightly above average, but spatial variations existed. Crops in about fourty percent of the areas in Northeast China were below average in early July and recovered to average levels since late July.  Meanwhile, great spatial variations existed in the region. Based on NDVI clusters and profiles, crops in 28.6% of the area experienced below-average conditions before the end of July and after mid-September, while conditions were above average during the intervening period. About 4% of cropland presented below average conditions throughout the monitoring period. It was mainly located in eastern Heilongjiang province and eastern Liaoning province, indicating that crops in this area were in relatively poor condition expecially in early-August. 

The maximum VCI shows that all provinces of the Northeast of China were above 0.80, except for a small part of western northeast China near the rivers. This was mainly due to the flooding caused by significant above average rainfall.

In general, crops in northeast China grew well in 2024, with good prospects for crop yield.

Figure 4.8 Crop condition China Northeast region, July-October 2024

（a） Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

（b） Spatial distribution of NDVI profiles

（c）Time series rainfall pofile

（d）Time series temperature pofile

（e）Maximum VCI

（f） Potential biomass departure from 5YA