The humble tree has long protected humans from sickness and even death—and in the modern city, it’s still doing so. As global temperatures rise, so too does the “urban heat island effect”—the tendency for cities to absorb and hold on to the sun’s energy, which is a growing public-health crisis worldwide. On a small scale, the shade under a single tree is an invaluable refuge on a blisteringly hot day. Scaling that effect up, neighborhoods with more tree cover are measurably cooler.
Now research is showing just what an impact this can have on people’s health. A new paper finds that in Los Angeles, planting more trees and deploying more reflective surfaces—something as simple as painting roofs white—could lower temperatures so dramatically, it’d cut the number of heat-related ER visits by up to 66 percent. That research follows a previous study by the same scientists finding that one in four lives lost during heat waves could be avoided with the same techniques.
Read full story here …: https://www.wired.com/story/city-trees-save-lives/?utm_source=pocket-newtab-en-gb
The Parks, Biodiversity and Landscape Services Division of Dublin City Council has an important role in the provision and maintenance of street trees. There are more than 60,000 street and roadside trees within the city, with an average of 5,000 trees being planted by Dublin City Council in the city each year.
Read more about Dublin City trees here … https://www.dublincity.ie/residential/parks/city-trees
Compiled by Minister Sharon Q.
