Crop condition was generally unfavorable from July to October, which covered the growing and harvesting stage of maize and rice, as well as the sowing of barley and winter wheat. Compared with average, RAIN and TEMP showed a slight increase (1% and1.3°C respectively), while RADPAR decreased (-1°C). The maximum VCI map indicates the areas where crop condition was below average (lower than 0.5),which mostly resulted from higher TEMP and low RADPAR. Unfavorable conditions resulted in low average BIOMSS (-15%) at the national scale. The fraction of cropped arable land (CALF) and cropping intensity slightly decreased (-2% and-1%, respectively), which may impact production. As shown by the crop condition development graph, crops were below the average of the last five-years fromlate August. Actually, spatial NDVI patterns and profiles showed that crop condition in about 67% of arable agricultural areas was below average from June. All available indicators concur to rank Pakistan’s crops as below average through out the country and CropWatch has put production below last year'slevels (-2% for maize and -3% for rice).

Figure 3.23. Pakistan crop condition, July-October 2014

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

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