Hot summer days in a city can be a living hell due to increased heat stress. But it shouldn’t be like this at all.
According to a new study, just one tree can help cool down a lot a city at nighttime. Researchers gathered enough data to come up with a plan of fighting off hot summer days in the city.
Here is what you need to know.
Creating a More Suitable Microclimate
For the recent study, a team of researchers needed cars, temperature sensors, and, of course, trees. The findings are genuinely intriguing.
Study insights
Researchers parked cars underneath the shade of scattered trees around Washington, DC, and made some measurements. All the cars had temperature sensors.
“There are plenty of good reasons to plant trees, but out study shows we shouldn’t underestimate the role that individual trees can play in mitigating heat in urban areas,” explained Michael Alonzo, an environmental scientist from American University.
The team collected more than 70,000 air temperature readings over the course of one hot day and night, in different settings around the city.
Next, the researchers made some comparisons and came across some fantastic results.
Findings
Researchers found that the neighborhoods with trees recorded cooler temperatures throughout the night. They also discovered that the canopy of a forested park succeeded in cooling down the city by 1.8 degrees Celsius, which is more than any other previous estimates.
The single trees, however, are the real heroes here. For example, a single 15-meter-tall tree can cast a shadow of 14-meter in the afternoon, as per the new findings. And that’s not all.
By the evening, that tree’s shadow grows to 56 meters!
In the summertime, cities can turn into some heat islands. And the temperatures are rising more and more due to climate change. For city dwellers, their homes become a living hell, and they can’t do much about it.
Plant a tree and save your city. Fight off hot temperatures efficiently!