Luke Parsons

Climate scientist and photographer from the Southwestern US

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Our new @NatureComms paper: urban trees halve the heat island globally, but cooling skews to wealthy, suburban areas. Trees offset only ~10% of mid-century warming (SSP2-4.5) in urban areas, ~20% under max planting. Emissions cuts are still essential
https://t.co/bczIRsoiYj

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

@hausfath Inspired by @hausfath 's super El Niño temp lag figure. Super El Niños (MEI > 2.0) show a consistent signal in heat-related livability limitations for older adults in months after peak MEI. 2023/24 excluded (MEI peaked ~1.1). ERA5-Land + HEAT-Lim; Parsons et al. 2026 in ER:H.

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Grateful for the excellent coverage of our new heat & livability paper from Todd Woody (@greenwombat) at @business, @jonathanwatts at the @guardian, and @tomjennings at @nature_org
Bloomberg: https://t.co/ALmvbQagzO
Guardian: https://t.co/ZzoJcezT2b
TNC: https://t.co/Z0emdz6eL4

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

In the last decade, a 'cool' year is now about as heat limited as a 'hot' year in the 1950s.

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

🚨 New paper in ER:H - Global heat livability limits doubled since 1950s
Older adults: 600→900 hrs/year of dangerous heat Younger adults: 25→50 hrs/year
~25% of people live in "survivable but not livable" zones for older adults
https://t.co/Gi9MmI8Z43
#ClimateChange #HeatStress

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Graphs from our paper (Fig. 5) showing growth of global population exposure to outdoor livability-limiting heat for younger adults (top, blue) and older adults (bottom, red) - note the spikes in El Niño years (red dots), and how heat exposure continues to spike in 2024 (!).

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Big thanks to @justinehausheer for her nice piece on our new @ScienceMagazine review paper on forests!

For Climate Adaptation, Forests Offer More Than Carbon Storage https://t.co/hd8wyUZPHE

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

New in Science 🌳

Forests aren't just carbon sinks, they protect people from climate extremes. In the tropics, intact forests cool by 6°C.

But heat from deforestation could reduce safe work conditions for ~3M people & is linked to ~28k deaths/yr.

https://t.co/GiFuLjhY5j

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Grateful to @nature_org media team (esp Tom Jennings and Robyn Day) for this excellent summary of our new @EarthsFutureEiC paper on heat inequity in the US. Great to see our science reaching wider audiences! https://t.co/1EKa6gJAir

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

🔥 NEW paper in @EarthsFutureEiC: Vulnerable US communities already face ~13 extra days/yr of dangerous heat (>95°F/35°F). With 2°C warming, this gap widens to nearly 3 weeks/yr.
Climate inequity in the US grows with warming.
📊 https://t.co/dqAKndlEHE

@theAGU @DukeEnvironment

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

The exec administration plans to dismantle NCAR, the backbone of US climate and weather science.
As a student, I trained at NCAR and was mentored by brilliant, careful scientists. I now rely on their data and expertise.
If in the US, contact your reps:
https://t.co/EgsTGyvp9S

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

🚨 Applications open for the Penn–TNC Sustainability & Conservation Science Postdoc Fellowship!
💰 $70K stipend + research/travel funds
🌍 Climate & conservation projects
📅 Deadline: Jan 30, 2026
🔗 Details: https://t.co/zSKB7iea1I
#ClimateScience #Postdoc

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

We contributed to a new FAO report on forests & ag Forests cool landscapes, sustain crops, & protect workers.
🌡️ Deforestation raises temps by 3–5 °C → unsafe work hours & potential ~28k heat-related deaths/yr.
🌳 Forest conservation = climate adaptation.
https://t.co/GYTX9ohiYQ

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

🚨 Funding Alert: Allen Family Philanthropies is offering $10M for projects that accelerate Natural Climate Solutions (NCS) in the U.S. through science & tech innovation. LOIs due Jan 15, 2026. Webinar Dec 9. https://t.co/dUN1abENY2 #ClimateSolutions #NCS #FundingOpportunity

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

🚨 New paper alert!
Migrant workers in India face rising indoor & outdoor heat stress, with labor capacity already down ~10% in key cities.
Climate warming + El Niño = even worse risks.
Proud to co-author this work in Earth’s Future.
🔗 https://t.co/CGVg8uAyst

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

🚨 AGU talk alert!
Presenting at #AGU25 in New Orleans — showing how extreme heat is already limiting safe physical activity for billions, especially older adults.
📅 Dec 15, 4:16PM CST
📍 Room 298-299
#ClimateHealth #ExtremeHeat #Livability

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Want to learn more about estimating how heat limits human livability on a warming planet? Come to my talk at #AMS2025 Tuesday, 14 Jan 2025 at 9:00 AM (CT) in the Session "Novel Assessment of Heat Exposure and Risk" ! @AMS_Health

[Gisel Guzman @GiselGuzmnE]

👋❤️‍🔥Please! Like and Repost! I'm participating in #GeoHealth 2024 #DataVizCompetition with the our new liveability metric to heat from "A physiological approach for assessing human survivability and liveability to heat in a changing climate" https://t.co/bO2DBB8UJ0 @JenniVanos

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

@thirstygecko Cool and it's led by Nathan. Nice. I always appreciate having a range instead of one time series/field to plot/assess!

[Luke Parsons @LukeAParsons]

Thanks to @CC_Yale for covering our recent @OneEarth_CP paper (https://t.co/PVrwuCl7iz) on the rising threat of humid heat and climate change threatening outdoor workers in tropical regions: https://t.co/IpiGIUDZFN