Abstract:?The Yangtze River basin, particularly its middle and lower reaches, is significantly influenced by the monsoon climate and the pervasive effects of global warming. This region frequently endures meteorological calamities such as high temperatures, heatwaves, droughts, and floods. The compilation of heatwave and drought index datasets holds substantial scientific value for the monitoring of extreme weather events and the assessment of risks associated with meteorological disasters amidst climate change. Utilizing daily temperature and precipitation observation data from 1961 to 2020 across the Yangtze River, a meticulous process of data screening, quality assurance, and outlier removal was conducted. This rigorous methodology ensured the collection and establishment of a dataset that delineates the indices and durations of heatwaves and droughts in the region. The dataset was subsequently subjected to temporal and consistency tests and was corroborated against existing literature.The findings affirm the dataset's high reliability, providing robust support for the analysis of long-term heatwave and drought characteristics along the Yangtze River. Moreover, this dataset serves as foundational data for further investigation into the responses of heatwave and drought events to climate change, as well as their implications for agricultural productivity and human well-being.
Keywords:?Heat wave index;?Drought index;?Multiple spatiotemporal scales;?Meteorological Station;?The middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River