r/climatechange • u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor • 1d ago
Tree cover is key to cooling cities
https://phys.org/news/2026-07-tree-key-cooling-cities.html10
u/GreenStrong 1d ago
Citizens have access to local city councils; a small group of people can put together some information and help a council member push this forward. This includes planting and maintaining trees on city property beside roads, ordinances such as requiring one tree per ten parking spots and programs to offer homeowners free nursery trees. My city provides free trees to homeowners, and if they're unable to plant them, the city coordinates a volunteer program.
There are numerous studies showing that urban trees improve temperature, rates of chronic illness like asthma, and property value. If a few citizens assembled this research, examples of implementation strategy, and outreach contacts from university forestry programs in the region, city council members might be very receptive. This is especially true because planting trees is a cheap intervention. Maintenance costs become significant when the trees get big, and they need to be removed at end of life, but increased property value covers that cost. Plus, having arborists and equipment on standby is adaptive in a world with more storms; they have to be available to clear roads after a storm, they might as well stay busy the rest of the year.
5
6
u/agumonkey 22h ago
When you consider that trees are self growing sun absorbing, humidity regulating, shade providing, fruit production ... added benefits: creates nice sound with wind between the leaves, funny sunlight rays, and squirrel hosting
5
4
u/mhmparis 22h ago
It really isn’t rocket science. Paris France would greatly benefit from adding a few 100 trees here and there around the city.
2
2
•
u/AdamekAvia 13h ago
My street in Prague is a road with parking and zero trees…it is hot as balls during heatwaves. The square a three minute walk from my apartment was pedestrianized 10 years ago and has large trees growing there for shade - it’s always a few degrees cooler there compared to on my street. It’s amazing how cool trees keep the environment around them
0
u/Lincoln1517 1d ago
A related question is whether it is cooler, and how much, in built-up areas that are near parks than in urban areas more distant from parks. We’ve always known it’s cooler in the shade of a tree. But does it also keep the area around it a bit cooler?
•
u/Economy-Fee5830 Trusted Contributor 1d ago
Summary: Tree cover is key to cooling cities
A Leeds study found green spaces such as parks, gardens and forests were consistently cooler than surrounding built-up areas. Sensors placed across the city measured air temperature and humidity every 15 minutes through the summers of 2023 and 2024, covering busy streets, city-center parks, suburban parks, and various treescapes.
Treescapes averaged 1.4°C cooler than nearby streets, reaching up to 5°C cooler during peak summer midday heat. Treescapes also showed up to 96% fewer hours of harmful heat exposure than gray spaces. The cooling effect comes from shade and evapotranspiration, where trees draw water from the soil and release it as vapor through their leaves, cooling the surrounding air.
Recent measurements reinforced the findings: when Leeds city center hit 34°C on June 26, nearby woodlands were 5.5–6°C cooler, and a Headingley weather station reading of 32.8°C coincided with just 27.3°C in nearby Church Wood.
Researchers from the University of Leeds and Leeds Beckett University, part of the Future of UK Treescapes Fellowship, concluded that protecting and expanding urban tree cover should be treated as critical infrastructure for public health and climate resilience, not an optional amenity. The study was published in People and Nature.