<p>Extreme climate events are becoming more frequent and severe worldwide, posing serious threats to agriculture and rural livelihoods, particularly in vulnerable regions like Ethiopia. However, little is known about how such events vary across agroecological zones and how farmers perceive and adapt to them at the local scale. This study examines agroecology-based farmers knowledge, attitudes and adaptive practices (KAPs) regarding extreme climate events in the Sidama region, Ethiopia. Historical data from the Meteorology Institute of Ethiopia (EMI) covering the period 1985–2018 were analyzed to observe trends in precipitation and temperature extremes. A multi-stage sampling method was used to interview a representative sample of 377 households across agroecological zones (AEZ). The findings revealed significant variability in temperature and precipitation extremes, particularly in the midland AEZ. While annual precipitation trends show minor changes, a significant decrease in very wet days was observed in the lowland AEZ. Temperature extremes, both maximum and minimum have increased significantly across all AEZ, pointing to warming trends with adverse implications for agriculture and livelihoods. Farmers generally have a notable knowledge of these changes, with highland farmers more aware of increasing precipitation. Challenges faced by farmers include drought, flooding, animal diseases, and crop pests, particularly in the lowlands, exacerbating food insecurity. Some of the adaptive practices employed by farmers were crop diversification and agroforestry, though adoption of drought-resistant seeds and soil terracing remained low over study AEZ. Farmers expressed moderate willingness to adopt new technologies despite barriers such as increasing input costs. As a whole, hazards linked to extreme climates affected farmers livelihoods across the AEZ. The study brings out targeted interventions to enhance AEZ-based adaptive strategies.</p>