The reporting period coincides with the harvest of winter wheat and barley, the sowing and growing stage of summer crops (cotton and rice), and the sowing of summer maize. Agroclimatic indicators show an increase of rainfall (RAIN, +17%) and decrease of radiation (RADPAR, -3%), compared to average. Temperature was below average (TEMP, -0.8°C),while biomass production potential is above (BIOMSS, +19%). CALF slightly increased (+1 percentage point) over its five-year average. The national NDVI development graph indicates that crop condition was unfavorable in April, butlater gradually improved and peaked at the beginning of July, reaching values comparable to the maximum of the past five years. The lowest maximum VCI values(0.5) occur in North Balochistan, the south of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and south Sindh.According to the NDVI profiles, 44% of the cropped areas display above average conditions from the beginning of April, much of it in Punjab, especially in the north. Remaining areas (56%) show average conditions. Altogether, cropcondition is estimated to be above average.

Figure 3.23. Pakistan crop condition, April-July 2015

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI                               (b)Maximum VCI

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