Park Williams

Park Williams is Professor in the Department of Geography at the University of California, Los Angeles, College of Social Sciences. As a hydroclimatologist, he researches the causes and consequences of hydrological extremes like drought, with emphasis on human-caused climate change impacts on water cycles, ecosystems, and society through events including wildfires and flooding.

Williams leads the HyFiVeS Research Group, focusing on water availability changes and their societal implications. Key findings include demonstrating exponential growth of western US forest-fire areas with rising aridity, impacts of megapluvials on water systems, and climate change contributions to the emerging North American megadrought. His research uses tree-ring reconstructions, climate modeling, and observational data analysis.

Recent articles (2023-2025) investigate nonlinear carbon feedbacks, atmospheric river dynamics, vapor pressure deficit effects on wildfires, and ecohydrological responses to extreme rainfall. Research consistently addresses climate change amplification of hydrological extremes.

Williams received the MacArthur Fellowship in 2023 and leads projects funded by NASA and NSF.