United States: Researchers have found that more people are getting sick or even dying from heat-related issues in the United States, according to one of the latest research. The experts have outlined that linked cases are found in the areas with fewer trees. The discovery was made public in a study published in npj Urban Sustainability.
What do researchers find?
An Urban Ecologist, Rob McDonald of The Nature Conservancy and colleagues discovered that, on average, such neighborhoods have about 11 percent less tree cover. During the summer, the air is also hotter by about 0.2 degrees Celsius in the neighborhoods without many trees.
The McDonald’s team evaluated data on tree cover and heat-related mortality and morbidity for 5,723 urban areas nationwide using data from the 2020 US census. About half of all Americans, or 180 million, were included in the census data. Approximately an equal number of persons lived in neighborhoods with a majority of white residents and a majority of non-white residents, as reported by Science News.
Tress also provides the cooling effect and benefit during extreme heat waves, specifically when shade is casted over concrete or asphalt. Planting more and more tress in a particular area can save hundreds of lives, highlighted McDonald, who is based in Basel, Switzerland.
Conclusion proposed by researchers!
The team also estimated that at the most ambitious level, planting 1.2 billion trees across the nation might avert around 460 extra heat-related fatalities and 81,000 additional medical visits per year.
However, in places like Philadelphia or New York City, even a five percent increase (5%) in the existent canopy cover might have a significant impact, according to McDonald. There are presently millions of trees in both cities. “The greatest locations for new (trees) are also those that are most impacted by tree inequality.”
As demonstrated earlier by Pickett proposals for green infrastructure frequently leave out the communities that stand to gain the most from them. According to him, inclusive planning will make sure that these communities are ready to care for both new and ancient trees and have a voice in the process.