Research on the Exposure of “Production-Living-Ecological” Space to Multiple Extreme Climate Indices: A Case Study in the Yangtze River Basin, China

The frequent occurrence of extreme climate events has become a significant feature of global climate change, profoundly affecting regional sustainable development. This study takes the Yangtze River Basin in China as a typical area, selecting 14 extreme climate indices. Based on CMIP6 multi-scenario data, it assesses the exposure of the “production-living-ecological” space under different periods and scenarios, as well as its spatial evolution characteristics. The results show that extreme precipitation and high-temperature events will significantly increase in the future, especially under the SSP585 scenario, where indices such as Extremely wet day precipitation (R99p), Maximum 5-day precipitation (RX5day), Warm spell duration index (WSDI), and Warm days (TX90P) expand significantly in the eastern and central regions of the basin. Meanwhile, low-temperature and drought indicators like Consecutive dry days (CDD), Minimum value of daily minimum Temperature (TNn), and Ice days (ID0) show a general decreasing trend. The “three-life” space exhibits significant spatial and temporal exposure differences, with ecological space being most exposed to high temperatures and intense precipitation, followed by production space, and living space being relatively less exposed. The study reveals the vulnerable areas and dominant risk types of the “three-life” space under different extreme climate types, providing scientific support for spatial optimization and extreme climate risk management at the basin scale.