The period from April to July 2015 covers the growing and harvest period of early rice, the planting oflate rice, and harvest of winter wheat. Crop condition was generally some what below average during the entire period. The precipitation (RAIN) dropped by 9%,temperature (TEMP) increased by 0.4°C, while radiation (RADPAR) increased by2%. As a result, potential accumulated biomass decreased by 9% on the whole,compared to the five-year average. Nearly all arable land was actually cropped overthe region, with the CALF decreasing by only 1 percentage point.

From the crop condition development graph based on NDVI, it can be seen that in April crop condition inthe region reached the five-year maximum. However, condition dropped sharply tobelow average in May and the beginning of June. After June it showed some recovery and returned to average at the end of June. Subsequently, it droppedbelow average condition again, resulting from frequent rainstorms and floods(see section 5.2 for details). The overall below average condition in May andJuly was also reflected by the spatial NDVI pattern and profiles, covering southern Guangxi and southwestern Guangdong regions. According to CropWatch monitoring, close to average temperature (+0.5°C) and low rainfall (-36%) withstable radiation (+2%) in Yunnan led to the decrease in potential accumulated biomass (BIOMSS) by 18% compared to average. Yunnan has suffered from severedrought, including in the southern Yunnan region also mentioned in the analysis of China’s Southwest region. CropWatch will closely monitor the situation in this area in the coming months.

Figure4.14. Crop condition Southern China region, April-July 2015

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

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

(d)Maximum VCI                                                                                                 (e) Biomass