The overall crop condition in the region is locally below average compared with the recent five-year average, at a time that coincides with the planting season of winter wheat. NDVI was generally below average by about 0.1 units during most of the time. Agroclimatic indices show a 12% decrease of radiation (RADPAR), accompanied by a positive temperature (TEMP) anomaly of 0.9°C. The cropped arable land fraction (CALF) remains at the same level as the five-year average.

According to the spatial NDVI patterns and profiles, winter wheat condition is below average in western Chongqing, western Guizhou, parts of western Hubei, Hunan, and especially in eastern Sichuan regions, where the maximum VCI was mainly in the range of 0.5 to 0.8. This can probably be assigned to low RADPAR in Chongqing (-22%), Guizhou (-16%), Hubei (-22%), and Hunan (-24%), and increased air temperature (Sichuan: +0.9°C; Chongqing: +0.7°C; and Guizhou: +1.2°C). Crop condition is generally favorable, with the exception of the listed areas where the final outcome will depend on conditions prevailing during the coming months.

(a) Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

(b) Spatial NDVI patterns compared to 5YA                 (c) NDVI profiles

(d) Maximum VCI                                                           (e) Biomass