Cotton: the weather data in Xinjiang by mid-May, 2023

During late Apr and May Day holiday, temperature was low in Xinjiang, together with hail and snow. The cotton crops grow in different size affected by the low temperature and some farmers worry that machine picking may be difficult, and cotton crops have to be hand-picked. In late May, hail and heavy rains came again in Xinjiang. The concerns over the weather condition in Xinjiang have not retreated. Following is Xinjiang cotton development gross and weather condition by mid-May.

In terms of the growing progress, except Kashgar, cotton crop growing progress was relatively slow overall in Xinjiang, and by mid-May, some crops were still in the stage of sprout in some regions.

Viewed from average temperature in Xinjiang, South Xinjiang suffered low temperature in late Apr and early May, and North Xinjiang mainly suffered low temperature in early May. In mid-May, temperature recovered largely in both South and North Xinjiang, but according to the latest weather news, low temperature continued in Xinjiang in late May.

In terms of the average rainfall, rainfall increased slightly in South Xinjiang in early May, and for North Xinjiang, rainfall increased in early and mid-May. Generally, the rainfall condition was at a normal level.

For the average sunshine hours, the situation was better in South Xinjiang, and sunshine hours in North Xinjiang was lower than the corresponding period of previous years.

In general, weather condition in 2023/24 is worse compared to 2022/23 season, mainly due to the low temperature. Both South Xinjiang and North Xinjiang has suffered bad weather in late Apr/early May and late May. Keep an eye on the influence of weather condition on cotton crop growing further.