During the period from March 6, 2022 to March 21, 2022, most of the winter wheat in the North China was in the greening period, while winter wheat in the Northwest region were still in the overwintering period. The winter wheat in the south of Yellow River reached jointing-stage, and it was mostly in the heading to flowering stage in Southwest China.

In general, temperature is 1-4 degree higher than average in most areas of the country, except for Northeast China and eastern of North China Plain, where the temperature is close to or 1-2°C lower than the average. In mid-March, affected by the cold wave from Siberia, snowfall occurred in parts of North China Plain, the Northeast, and the Northwest, providing sufficient soil moisture for the coming sowing period of spring crops. Meanwhile, the sufficient rainfall in lower Yangtze River was beneficial to the subsequent growth and development of crops. However, continuous heavy rainfall during the winter wheat sowing period in autumn 2021 in North China caused localized flooding and excessively wet soil in the field, which delayed the sowing of winter wheat. Moreover, the areas along the Yellow River, especially near the cities of Zhengzhou and Kaifeng in Henan province, and Liaocheng and Dezhou in Shandong provinces, were flooded for a long period and the sowing of winter wheat was also delayed or even been abandoned, resulting in a significantly lower-than-average crop growth in the region. All in all, the national summer crop growth is uneven and slightly lower than the average level.

Figure 1: NDVI departure from 5 years average (2022.03.06 - 2022.03.21)