Daily Gridded Dataset of the Standardized Compound Drought and Heat Index for Xinjiang

The Standardized Compound Drought and Heat Index (SCDHI) is an indicator designed to quantitatively assess compound drought–heat events and is primarily used to identify and analyze compound climate extremes characterized by the simultaneous occurrence of drought and high temperature. Accurate characterization of the spatiotemporal distribution of compound drought–heat events is a critical foundation for climate risk assessment and related studies. In this study, based on ERA5-Land, CN05.1, and multi-source meteorological forcing data, we constructed daily gridded SCDHI datasets for Xinjiang at spatial resolutions of 0.1° × 0.1° and 0.25° × 0.25° covering the period 1980–2020. The ERA5-Land–derived SCDHI dataset was evaluated against the CN05.1 gridded dataset interpolated from Chinese meteorological station observations. The results show a correlation coefficient (R) of 0.95, a coefficient of determination (R²) of 0.90, and a root mean square error (RMSE) of 0.26, indicating high spatiotemporal consistency and reliability of the dataset. This dataset provides robust data support for assessing compound drought–heat events in Xinjiang and has important scientific implications for the development of adaptation strategies to compound drought–heat disaster risks.