Village Extreme Climate Index in Indonesia

This study aims to compile and analyze the Village Extreme Climate Index in Indonesia as a proxy for disaster exposure triggered by extreme climate dynamics. The study used data from the 2021 Village Potential Data Collection (PODES), which covers all villages and sub-districts in Indonesia from 34 provinces, focusing on six types of climate disasters: floods, flash floods, wind disasters, forest and land fires, drought, and abrasion. The index was compiled using a composite index approach based on the frequency of affected villages, which was then normalized on a 0–1 scale and aggregated at the provincial level. The analysis results indicate that hydrometeorological disasters, particularly floods, are the most dominant climate disaster, although the distribution of disaster events shows significant spatial variation across regions. The 2021 Extreme Climate Index shows significant differences in climate vulnerability levels across Indonesian provinces. Provinces with high index scores, such as East Nusa Tenggara (0.78), South Kalimantan (0.57), West Kalimantan (0.55), and Gorontalo (0.54), exhibit a greater frequency and intensity of extreme climate events than other regions. The resulting Extreme Climate Index is able to identify provinces with relatively high and low levels of climate disaster exposure, thus providing an initial overview of regional vulnerability to extreme climate impacts. These findings emphasize the importance of an index-based approach in mapping climate disaster risks and its relevance as a supporting instrument for climate change adaptation planning and risk-based regional development in Indonesia.