Google Earth Engine Script for Extracting Climate Extremes with Current and Lagged Variables from DHS Clusters in Sierra Leone

This repository contains a Google Earth Engine (GEE) script developed to extract spatially explicit climate extreme indicators at DHS cluster locations for Sierra Leone. The script integrates daily CHIRPS precipitation data and ERA5-Land temperature variables to construct multiple indices of extreme heat, extreme rainfall, drought, and thermal stress.

The workflow generates climate variables for the survey year (“current”) as well as lagged exposures at 12 months (Lag 1), 24–13 months (Lag 2), and 36–25 months (Lag 3) prior to each DHS survey wave (2008, 2013, and 2019). Extreme thresholds are defined using both absolute cutoffs (e.g., temperature >35°C, rainfall >50 mm) and percentile-based measures derived from a long-term baseline period (1990–2020). Wet Bulb Globe Temperature (WBGT) is computed to capture heat stress conditions.

Climate variables are spatially aggregated within a 10 km buffer around DHS cluster coordinates to account for location displacement and local exposure, and additional geographic controls (elevation, slope, distance to coast, travel time to cities, and population density) are included. The final output is a harmonized cluster-level dataset suitable for econometric analysis of climate impacts on household welfare, with particular applicability to gender-disaggregated studies.

This script is intended to support reproducible research in climate economics, development studies, and environmental health, especially in data-scarce and post-conflict settings.                                                             

The script was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence tools and subsequently reviewed, modified, and fully supervised by the author. All methodological decisions, variable definitions, and analytical logic were designed and validated by the author.