Winter wheat was planted during this monitoring period in southwest China; the overall crop condition is average compared to the last 5YA.  The CropWatch RAIN indicator reported a 13% decrease of precipitation accompanied by a positive temperature anomaly of 1.2℃. 

NDVI was generally average in October, dropped below average in November and recovered in December and January. From the spatial NDVI patterns and profiles, it is also seen that crops are fair in about 88.5% of the area. The low average NDVI in November is possibly due to the below average condition of the eastern part of Sichuan, resulting from  decreased precipitation, of which the low potential biomass there is another indicator (Figure 4.10 e). The cropped arable land fraction stayed at the  same level as the last 5YA. Altogether, the expected output of winter crops is fair in Southwest China.

(a)Crop condition development graph based on NDVI

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

(d) Maximum VCI                                                                                    (e) Biomass