This reporting period covers the growth and maturity stages of summer crops, including late rice, semi-late rice, and maize. Their harvest was followed by the sowing of winter wheat in some fields. Overall, water and temperature conditions were favorable during this monitoring period, with crop conditions close to the average levels of previous years.

The Cropwatch agroclimatic indicators show favorable climate conditions during this monitoring period: the cumulative precipitation was 844 mm, which is 5% below the 15-year average, but still sufficient to meet the water requirements for crop growth. The main areas with below-average precipitation were Chongqing (-16%) and Guizhou (-29%). The average temperature was 20.4°C, which is 1.5°C higher than the 15-year average. Due to the increase in sunny days, the light and effective radiation were slightly above the average (+8%); the good light and thermal conditions contributed to a potential biomass that was 1% higher than the average. The integrated water and thermal conditions showed spatial differences in the potential biomass anomaly map, with most of the region’s potential biomass at the average level. Only the central part of Guizhou and the northern part of Chongqing had a potential biomass that was approximately 10% to 20% below the average due to lower precipitation.

The NDVI time series indicates that the vegetation growth condition during this monitoring period was stable at the average level. The VCI in the region reached 0.95, and the VCI map showed that almost all areas had a VCIx value greater than 0.8, indicating good crop growth conditions. The areas with lower precipitation in Guizhou and Chongqing benefited from effective irrigation measures, and crop growth was not affected. The cropland in the region was fully utilized (CALF = 100%), while the annual  Cropping intensity slightly decreased (-6%). According to the NDVI anomaly clustering map, the main cropland concentration areas (red areas) had crop growth slightly below the average level at the beginning of the monitoring period, but showed an overall upward trend, with crop growth slightly above the average by the end of the monitoring period. The rest of the regions maintained crop growth near the average level. The CPI for the region was 0.99, slightly better than the 0.95 recorded during the same period of last year, and the same as the previous monitoring period, further confirming the favorable agricultural production situation.

Figure 4.16 Crop condition China Southwest region, July-October 2024

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(b) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI     (c) NDVI profiles

(d) Maximum VCI

(e) Potential biomass departure from 15YA

(f) Time series rainfall profile

(g) Time series temperature profile

（h）CPI time series graph