Figures 3.1-3.4 illustrate the global distribution ofCropWatch indicators for rainfall, temperature, radiation, andbiomass—respectively the RAIN, TEMP, RADPAR, and BIOMSS indicators, showingtheir increase or decrease for this monitoring period compared to the averageOctober-January period. Details by country are presented in table 3.1.

During the reporting period, above average temperature wasrecorded in:

·        Most of Europe, with values increasing from theeast (Poland, +1.6°C;Slovakia, +2.2°C;Hungary, +2.1°C; andBosnia, +2.0°C) towest, with the highest departures in agriculturally important countries beingthose of France (+3.6°C)and Hungary (+2.1°C).Other high values include Switzerland (+2.5°C)and Norway (+2.8°C).The same area had above average rainfall in the north but a deficit in thesouth. High temperatures were mostly associated with above average sunshineoften exceeding +10%.

·        Western United States, with temperaturedepartures between +1.7°C(Oregon) and +2.4°C(Utah and California) but also a shortage of rainfall in Nevada (-31%) andOregon (-26%).

·        Eastern South America from Ceara to Rio Grandedo Sul, with highest temperature departures in Rio (+2.7°C, with a -27% drop in rainfall), Sao Paolo(+2.6°C and -21%),and Minas Gerais (+2.6°Cand -32%).

Other areas with abnormally warm conditions includedAfghanistan (+2.8°C)and Guatemala (+2.0°C);rainfall in these countries, however was in excess and close to +25%.

Very cold departure conditions—with temperatures much belowaverage—were concentrated around the Caspian sea, encompassing an areaincluding the republics of Dagestan (-2.7°C),Ingushetia (-2.0°C),and Northern Ossetia (-1.6°C)to the Oblasts of Rostov (-1.7°C),Saratov (-1.6°C),and all the way east to Jamblynsk (-2.2°C).The same area usually experienced excess rainfall in the south and east (+119%in Dagestan and +53% in the Jamblynsk Oblast) and close to average in the eastand north.

Drought conditions occurred in the already mentioned areasaround the Mediterranean: Portugal (RAIN -53%); Bosnia-Herzegovina (-46%);Albania (-45%); Spain (-38%); Croatia (-36%); Algeria (-35%), as well as in Brazil(Rio Grande do Norte, -66%); Amapa (-54%), and the United States (Arizona, -36%and Nevada, -31%). In addition, droughts occurred in:

·        Southern South America, in Chile (-59% at thenational level) and west to south Argentina (Catamarca, -35% to San Juan,Neuquen, and Santa Cruz, San Juan, which are all at or close to -70%).

·        Eastern United States (Delaware, -53%; Maryland,-48%; Pennsylvania, -47%; and -45% in New Jersey).

·        Northeast India (Assam and Meghalaya, both at-50%; West Bengal, Jharkhand, and Arunachal Pradesh at about -40%; and Odisha,-32%) and Bangladesh (-43%).

·        Eastern Asia in Japan (-36%) and China (Taiwan, -84%;Jiangxi, -67%; Zhejiang, -65%; and Hainan, Guangdong, and Fujian, all around-55%; and Tianjin and Beijing with -30%).

Very wet conditions, with precipitation at least double ofexpected amounts (expressed as rainfall values above 100%) concentrate in fourareas:

·        Northern central United States (South Dakota,with a record +260%, followed by Montana and Wyoming, both close to +150%, andColorado, 109%).

·        Western Caspian, partly overlapping with verycold conditions: Astrakhan Oblast, +135%; Dagestan Republic, +120%; Armenia,+127%; and Azerbaijan, 106%.

·        Northern Indian sub-continent with Uttarkhand,+186%; Nepal, +170%; and Uttar Pradesh, +100%.

·        A large central Asian area stretching fromKyrgyzstan (300%) to China (Qinghai, 280%; Ningxia, 173%; Gansu, +129%; andXinjiang, +108%).

Low sunshine has affected several isolated or high latitudeareas of limited agricultural relevance, but also a large east-west stretch insouthern Russia and Kazakhstan, mostly from the Tatarstan republic (RADPAR -16%)to the Kemerovo Oblast (-14%) and including the Oblast of Kurgan, NorthKazakhstan, East Kazakhstan, Novosibirsk, and the Altay Krai, at -13%. This isunlikely to have had any significant impact of agriculture, except through theassociation of low sunshine with higher than expected precipitation, which hasimproved soil moisture storage and will benefit currently dormant winter cropsand future spring crops.

Figure 3.1. Global map of rainfall(RAIN) by country and sub-national areas, departure from 13YA (percentage), October2014-January 2015

Figure 3.3. Global map of PAR (RADPAR)by country and sub-national areas, departure from 13YA (percentage), October2014-January 2015

Figure 3.4. Global map of biomass (BIOMSS)by country and sub-national areas, departure from 5YA (percentage), October 2014-January 2015

Table 3.1. CropWatch agroclimatic andagronomic indicators for October 2014-January 2015, departure from 5YA or13YA

Note: Departures are expressed in relative terms(percentage) for all variables, except for temperature, for which absolutedeparture in degrees Celsius is given. Zero means no change from the averagevalue; Relative departures are calculated as (C-R)/R*100, with C=current valueand R=reference value, which is the five-year (5YA) or thirteen-year average(13YA) for the same period (October-January).