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UCS Climate Scientist Dr. Kristina Dahl Named to 2023 TIME List of Next 100 Most Influential People in the World

Published Sep 13, 2023

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Dr. Kristina Dahl, a principal climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS), has been named in the TIME100 Next list for 2023. An expansion of the TIME100 list of the most influential people in the world, TIME100 Next highlights 100 emerging leaders who are shaping the future of science, activism, politics, business, sports, entertainment, and more. The full list will appear in the September 25 issue of TIME Magazine, available on newsstands on Friday, September 15, and online now at time.com/next.

Dr. Dahl has worked for UCS for 12 years. In her role, she conducts scientific analyses that make the mounting climate crisis more tangible to the general public and policymakers. Much of her work focuses on understanding, explaining and mapping when, where, and how people will be affected by sea level rise, extreme heat, wildfire, and other consequences of climate change.

“I’m honored and delighted to be receiving this recognition along with so many extraordinary people,” said Dr. Dahl. “We live on a beautiful, complex, and fascinating planet, and I feel fortunate to spend my days trying to understand it. As disheartening as it is to be witnessing profound changes to our climate, it’s also incredibly gratifying to be contributing actionable science to the fierce and growing climate movement.”

To date, Dr. Dahl has co-authored dozens of peer-reviewed scientific analyses and studies for general audiences, including:

  • The Fossil Fuels Behind Forest Fires: Quantifying the Contribution of Major Carbon Producers to Increasing Wildfire Risk (2023), available here.
  • Too Hot to Work: Assessing the Threats Climate Change Poses to Outdoor Workers (2021), available here.
  • Farmworkers at Risk: The Growing Dangers of Pesticides and Heat (2019), available here.
  • US Military on the Frontlines of Extreme Heat (2019), available here.
  • Killer Heat in the United States: Climate Choices and the Future of Dangerously Hot Days (2019), available here.
  • Underwater: Rising Seas, Chronic Floods, and the Implications for US Coastal Real Estate (2018), available here.
  • When Rising Seas Hit Home: Hard Choices Ahead for US Coastal Communities (2017), available here.
  • The US Military on the Frontlines of Rising Seas: Growing Exposure to Coastal Flooding at East and Gulf Coast Military Bases (2016), available here.
  • Stormy Seas, Rising Risks: What Investors Should Know About Climate Change Impacts at Oil Refineries (2016), available here.
  • Lights Out?: Storm Surge, Blackouts, and How Clean Energy Can Help (2015), available here.
  • Encroaching Tides: How Sea Level Rise and Tidal Flooding Threaten US East and Gulf Coast Communities over the Next 30 Years (2014), available here.

Dr. Dahl earned a PhD in paleoclimate from the MIT/Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Joint Program, and a BA in Earth sciences from Boston University.

She has been quoted in major media outlets including ABC News, BBC, Bloomberg, The Boston Globe, CNN, EFE, The Guardian, The Los Angeles Times, National Geographic, The New York Times, NPR, PBS Newshour, People, Reuters, The San Francisco Chronicle, Science Friday, USA Today, The Washington Post, and The Weather Channel.

To view Dr. Dahl’s full biography, click here. Contact UCS Climate and Energy Media Manager Ashley Siefert Nunes to speak with Dr. Dahl.