Queensland Drought Indices Dataset (SPI, SPEI, Protracted Drought Classification), 2000–2025

This dataset provides monthly gridded drought indices for Queensland, Australia, covering January 2000 to December 2025, at 0.05° spatial resolution (382 × 311 grid cells). It includes: SPI (Standardized Precipitation Index) at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month scales SPEI (Standardized Precipitation-Evapotranspiration Index) at 1-, 3-, 6-, and 12-month scales Protracted Drought Classification, derived from SPI-1 using bioregion-specific recovery period thresholds, alongside a bioregion identifier layer Indices were derived from SILO gridded climate data (Queensland Government, Department of Environment and Science). This dataset was produced as part of a PhD research project on explainable AI approaches for reducing basis risk in weather index insurance for agribusiness, University of Southern Queensland.