Ladd Keith

Honored to receive the @uarizona.bsky.social's Convergence Award for Excellence in Applied Research and Engineering! research.arizona.edu/convergence-... #uarizona #research

New comment in Nature Cities on "Spatial Planning and the Governance of Urban Greening". I argue that green infrastructure spatial planning processes are underexamined in research & practice and propose an agenda for improving them #greeninfrastructure #naturebasedsolutions Full text: rdcu.be/faKfb

Through interviews with practitioners across the U.S. Southwest, we found the importance of clear and consistent messaging, connecting people to resources, and that flexibility supports capacity during times of crisis.

Schultz Fire in 2010. Photo Credit to USDA Forest Service

New co-authored open access paper out on the role of public health during wildfires. doi.org/10.1007/s103... #publichealth #wildfire #climatechange

Over 400 people treated, 25 hospitalized from heat-related illnesses at Luke Days Luke Air Force Base officials say at least 25 people were taken to a hospital due to heat-related illnesses, which include overheating, dehydration and heat exhaustion.

Okay, we can do better than this Arizona: "Officials confirmed that more than 400 patients were contacted by medical personnel at Luke Days on Saturday." www.abc15.com/news/local-n... #heatwave #extremeheat

Heat monitoring continues with the high temperatures here in the Southwest. Below are thermal photographs that visualize heat in our environment. 1 ) student thoroughfare on campus, 2) the Underwood Garden at CAPLA. 3) lot near the Underwood Garden. Find heat safety resources here: lnkd.in/gwJsC-_t

Sunset over LA - one of the areas currently experiencing extreme early season heat.

RAPID ANALYSIS: It would be ‘virtually impossible’ for the record-breaking March heat currently scorching the U.S. West to occur without climate change.

We are seeing summer-like temperatures arrive exceptionally early from the Pacific to the Rockies this week. 🧵1/4

We've kept our eye on surface temperatures during this mid-March heat wave over the Western US. ☀️ These temps were taken around our work place, homes, and along our commutes in Tucson and Albuquerque. The UofA's media advisory for the heat season is out early, just like the heat! lnkd.in/gYw5etvw

surface temperature reading

It's hot out there! Tucson just broke our earliest 100°F on record today, previously set on April 11, 2025. Average first 100°F is supposed to be mid-May. Surface temperatures are much higher of course, this was a random reading of an asphalt road I took. #heatwave #azwx #extremeheat

An extreme early-season heat wave could see temperatures 20-30 degrees above average and record temperatures broken by 10 or more degrees today and tomorrow across the Desert Southwest. Jumping right into summer-like heat puts vulnerable populations at risk. Stay cool at www.weather.gov/safety/heat

♨️This week: a prolonged heat wave will push temperatures 20-30°F above normal across much of the western U.S.

🌡️Dozens of daily and all-time March records expected...including the earliest 100°F temps on record.

A short 🧵

We found a small increase in air temperature, 0.11 °C (0.2 °F), and no change in wet bulb globe temperature after cool pavement application.

Evaluating the impacts of cool pavement on pedestrian-level heat stress indicators - Discover Cities Discover Cities - Extreme heat is an increasing hazard in communities across the world due to climate change and urbanization patterns resulting in urban heat. Transportation infrastructure, such...

New co-authored open access @discover.springernature.com paper on a cool pavement pilot project in Tucson and its impact on pedestrian-level heat stress.
link.springer.com/article/10.1... #uarizona #uazresearch #extremeheat #heatresilience #coolpavement

Map, from polarwx.com, of ECMWF model's forecast for 500mb heights later this week and their rank relative to the historical record for March over North America. A giant pink blob is visible over western North America, indicating an absurdly large area of record-breaking 500mb GPH.

The seasonal anomalousness, as well sheer spatial extent, of upcoming record-shattering Western U.S. heatwave is genuinely startling. This will be associated with, by far, the strongest ridge ever observed during (at least) any Nov-Mar month. #CAwx #AZwx #NMwx #NVwx #UTwx #COwx

Map of projected temperature anomalies next Thursday across the western U.S. from the ECMWF ensemble. The entire map is bright red and pink, indicative of extreme to record-breaking March warmth. Some location will be 25-30F degrees above average, with a few locations warming over 35F (!) above average.

All signs continue to point to an exceptional, long-duration, and record-breaking to (in some cases) record-shattering March heatwave initially centered across U.S. Southwest but expanding to much broader region next week. This is effectively a full-on summer heatwave in March.

Trump Administration Readies Plans to Dismantle Renowned Science Lab

This will set back American science for a generation or more and put our national security at risk. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/13/c... #science #climatescience #ncar

Major heatwave heading to the Southwest next week - Tucson could see it's first 100°F almost a month earlier than the previous record set last year. #extremeheat #climatechange

U of A heat policy experts to present at annual Frontiers of Science symposium The National Academy of Sciences event, designed to highlight the work of early-career scientists, will include a panel featuring Ufuoma Ovienmhada and her work on heat health in prisons. Ladd Keith, ...

Our @uarizona.bsky.social story on my heat health panel with @doctorufu.bsky.social and @robbieparks.bsky.social is at news.arizona.edu/news/u-heat-... #uarizona

National Academy of Sciences' Frontiers of Science

National Academy of Sciences' Frontiers of Science

National Academy of Sciences' Frontiers of Science

National Academy of Sciences' Frontiers of Science

Wrapped up the @nationalacademies.org Frontiers of Science symposium this weekend as a FoS Fellow, what a fantastic event! Leaving with new ideas and colleagues at the forefront of U.S. science. #science #nasfrontiersofscience

U of A heat policy experts to present at annual Frontiers of Science symposium The National Academy of Sciences event, designed to highlight the work of early-career scientists, will include a panel featuring Ufuoma Ovienmhada and her work on heat health in prisons. Ladd Keith, ...

Honored to be selected as a @nasonline.org Frontiers of Science (FoS) Fellow and serve as an introductory speaker for the heat and human health panel during next week's FoS Symposium!

news.arizona.edu/news/u-heat-... #extremeheat #heathealth #science #NAS #FrontiersofScience

Our February newsletter is now available, featuring the 3rd SoAZ Heat Summit, introducing our RISE Intern Ryan Green, and exciting upcoming events. Subscribe to the newsletter by visiting heat.arizona.edu. ☀️ #extremeheat #heatresilience Read the newsletter: view.comms.arizona.edu?vawpToken=EF...

Southern Arizona Heat Summit highlights youth voices while helping Tucson prepare for extreme heat The Southern Arizona Heat Planning Summit helps officials prepare for and protect vulnerable citizens during increasing extreme heat events and has led to an international reputation for excellence in...

"There's not any other city in the US that's doing a continual heat summit like this with the range of partners that we have, so I think that's something to be really proud of. That said, of course, we still have a lot more work to do which is why we're all here." news.arizona.edu/news/souther...

A Climate Supercomputer Is Getting New Bosses. It’s Not Clear Who.

"The US National Science Foundation said on Thursday that the management and operations of a supercomputer used by more than 4,000 climate and weather scientists across the country would be transferred from a leading research lab to an undisclosed third party." www.nytimes.com/2026/02/13/c... #NCAR

With Latest Rollback, the U.S. Essentially Has No Clean-Car Rules

"If the E.P.A.’s decision holds, it could increase the country’s greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent over the next 30 years" @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/02/16/c... #climatechange

New co-authored paper out where we find heat-related emergency medical service activations increased 65% from 2019 to 2024 across the U.S. jamanetwork.com/journals/jam... #heathealth #extremeheat #heatresilience

A Secret Panel to Question Climate Science Was Unlawful, Judge Rules

A federal judge on Friday ruled the Energy Department violated the law when Secretary Chris Wright handpicked five researchers who reject the scientific consensus on #climate change to work in secret on a sweeping government report on global warming.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/30/c...

"It seeks to reduce us all to a state of constant fear — a fear of violence from which some people may at a given moment be spared, but from which no one will ever be truly safe. That is our new national reality. State terror has arrived."

Opinion | State Terror Has Arrived

"After the past three weeks of brutality in Minneapolis, it should no longer be possible to say that the Trump administration seeks merely to govern this nation." www.nytimes.com/2026/01/24/o...

"The party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." — George Orwell.

US science after a year of Trump: what has been lost and what remains A series of graphics reveals how the Trump administration has sought historic cuts to science and the research workforce.

"More than 7,800 research grants terminated or frozen. Some 25,000 scientists and personnel gone from agencies that oversee research. Proposed budget cuts of 35% — amounting to US$32 billion." www.nature.com/immersive/d4... #science #fundscience #researchfunding