The main crops in the field during the reporting period are winter wheat and winter barley, as well as maize and some patches of rice nearing maturity. Agroclimatic and agronomic conditions for the reporting period were about average or above: RAIN, +30%; RADPAR, -1%; TEMP, +0.4°C; and CALF, +5%. For the different sub-zones in the country, the most variable factor was rainfall (RAIN), noting: (i) +6% in the northern highlands of FATA and NWFP, with VCIx values mostly below 0.5; (ii) +16% in North Punjab, with VCIx usually above 0.5 and no low values; (iii) +60% in the main irrigated areas of the Lower Indus Basin, where most of the above-average NDVI values and high VCIx occur; and (iv) +127% in Baluchistan where the supplementary water will no doubt boost irrigated crops.

At the national level maximum VCI was 0.82 on average, while the biomass production potential (BIOMSS) increased 20%, with spatial variations from -1% in the northernmost areas, due to above-average temperature (+0.8°C) to 48% in the lower Indus basin. Most positive values are probably exaggerated, as rainfall mostly supplements irrigation in many areas. Even considering that the cropped arable land fraction (CALF) did not change significantly compared with previous years, crop prospects are at least average in Pakistan.