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Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours

Publication ,  Journal Article
Parsons, LA; Jung, J; Masuda, YJ; Vargas Zeppetello, LR; Wolff, NH; Kroeger, T; Battisti, DS; Spector, JT
Published in: One Earth
December 17, 2021

Climate change has increased heat exposure in many parts of the tropics, negatively impacting outdoor worker productivity and health. Although it is known that tropical deforestation is associated with local warming, the extent to which this additional heat exposure affects people across the tropics is unknown. In this modeling study, we combine worker health guidelines with satellite, reanalysis, and population data to investigate how warming associated with recent deforestation (2003–2018) affects outdoor working conditions across low-latitude countries, and how future global climate change will magnify heat exposure for people in deforested areas. We find that the local warming from 15 years of deforestation was associated with losses in safe thermal working conditions for 2.8 million outdoor workers. We also show recent large-scale forest loss was associated with particularly large impacts on populations in locations such as the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Pará. Future global warming and additional forest loss will magnify these impacts.

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Published In

One Earth

DOI

EISSN

2590-3322

ISSN

2590-3330

Publication Date

December 17, 2021

Volume

4

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1730 / 1740

Related Subject Headings

  • 41 Environmental sciences
  • 37 Earth sciences
 

Citation

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ICMJE
MLA
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Parsons, L. A., Jung, J., Masuda, Y. J., Vargas Zeppetello, L. R., Wolff, N. H., Kroeger, T., … Spector, J. T. (2021). Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours. One Earth, 4(12), 1730–1740. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.11.016
Parsons, L. A., J. Jung, Y. J. Masuda, L. R. Vargas Zeppetello, N. H. Wolff, T. Kroeger, D. S. Battisti, and J. T. Spector. “Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours.” One Earth 4, no. 12 (December 17, 2021): 1730–40. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.oneear.2021.11.016.
Parsons LA, Jung J, Masuda YJ, Vargas Zeppetello LR, Wolff NH, Kroeger T, et al. Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours. One Earth. 2021 Dec 17;4(12):1730–40.
Parsons, L. A., et al. “Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours.” One Earth, vol. 4, no. 12, Dec. 2021, pp. 1730–40. Scopus, doi:10.1016/j.oneear.2021.11.016.
Parsons LA, Jung J, Masuda YJ, Vargas Zeppetello LR, Wolff NH, Kroeger T, Battisti DS, Spector JT. Tropical deforestation accelerates local warming and loss of safe outdoor working hours. One Earth. 2021 Dec 17;4(12):1730–1740.

Published In

One Earth

DOI

EISSN

2590-3322

ISSN

2590-3330

Publication Date

December 17, 2021

Volume

4

Issue

12

Start / End Page

1730 / 1740

Related Subject Headings

  • 41 Environmental sciences
  • 37 Earth sciences