Parsons et al./One Earth

Pledges made in Glasgow at the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference, or COP26, are urgently needed by communities on the front lines of forest loss, according to a new study by a multidisciplinary team from the University of Washington, Duke University and The Nature Conservancy. New research shows how much local temperature rises in the tropics — compounded by accelerating deforestation — may already be jeopardizing the well-being and productivity of outdoor workers.

The study, published Dec. 17 in One Earth, compares established recommendations on safe working conditions with satellite observations of temperature and forest cover and population data. Results show how warming associated with recent deforestation, from 2003 to 2018, has increased heat exposure for 4.9 million people globally, including 2.8 million outdoor workers.

“Our findings highlight the vital role tropical forests play in effectively providing natural air-conditioning services for populations vulnerable to climate change — given these are typically regions where outdoor work tends to be the only option for many, and where workers don’t have the luxury of retiring to air-conditioned offices whenever the temperature rises to intolerable levels,” said lead author Luke Parsons, who began the study as a postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Atmospheric Sciences at the University of Washington and is now a postdoctoral researcher at Duke University.

Co-authors are Lucas Vargas Zeppetello and David Battisti in atmospheric sciences at the UW; Jihoon Jung and Dr. June Spector in environmental and occupational health sciences at the UW; and Yuta Masuda, Timm Kroeger and Nick Wolff at The Nature Conservancy.