|
Cities are vulnerable to heatwaves. But green spaces can help more than we thought
Cities are vulnerable to heatwaves. But green spaces can help more than we thought
ZME Science
Quote:
It’s not just that the planet is getting hotter; cities are getting much hotter than their surroundings. In fact, urban heatwaves have become a common occurrence, affecting 1.7 billion people. In Europe alone, the 2023 heatwave killed over 61,000 people. Now, a new study by researchers in the UK shows how much green interventions can help cool down cities.
***
The cooling effect of green infrastructure varies depending on multiple factors (including local climate, the species involved, etc). But the effect is pronounced. Botanical gardens are, on average, a whopping 5 degrees Celsius cooler than their surroundings. Even a street tree cools its immediate surroundings by almost 4 degrees. This is how much different types of green infrastructure can reduce local temperatures:
Quote:
Botanical gardens: -5 °C avg (variation: -2.2 to -10 °C)
Wetlands: -4.7 °C avg (variation: -1.2 to -12 °C)
Rain garden: -4.5 °C avg (variation: -1.3 to -7 °C)
Green walls: -4.1 °C avg (variation: -0.1 to -18 °C)
Street trees: -3.8 °C avg (variation: -0.5 to -12 °C)
City farm: -3.5 °C avg (variation -3 to -3.9 °C)
Parks: -3.2 °C avg (variation -0.8 to -10 °C)
Reservoirs -2.9 °C avg (variation -1.8 to 5 °C)
Playgrounds: -2.9 °C avg (variation: -2.8 to -3 °C)
|
In general, the team found that the bigger the park (or any other green infrastructure), the bigger the benefits. Furthermore, if parks are linked together via green corridors, there’s also a compound effect.
|
__________________
“It was miraculous. It was almost no trick at all, he saw, to turn vice into virtue and slander into truth, impotence into abstinence, arrogance into humility, plunder into philanthropy, thievery into honor, blasphemy into wisdom, brutality into patriotism, and sadism into justice. Anybody could do it; it required no brains at all. It merely required no character.” -- Joseph Heller, Catch-22
|
Threaded Mode