Crop condition in Huanghuahai was generally below the five-year average, although it approached that level in January. Unfavorable meteorological conditions during the last  monitoring period  may have impacted  the sowing and crop development at early growing stage. In addition, dry weather from July to October hindered the germination of winter wheat, which is confirmed by the well below average NDVI value before January in the NDVI development graph.Significantly above average rainfall (107%) from October  2015 to January 2016 provides sufficient soil moisture for winter wheat to develop after the wintering period, resulting an well increase in biomass(+99%).

As shown in the spatial pattern of the NDVI departure map, crop condition was below average  before the middle of October in almost the whole region, and well below the average since November in the scattered areas of the whole region, especially in eastern Henan and northern Anhui. Since December, crops in the above region began to recovered to average, mainly due to abundant rainfall. The maximum VCI presents low values in eastern and northern Henan, northern Anhui and central Hebei, which is consist with the spatial distribution of the crop condition.  Overall, climatic conditions so far will benefit the development of the winter wheat after dormancy.