Climate change is causing summer temperatures to rise around the world, and new research now shows that most urban residents are lacking trees, a key source of cooling.
A study of eight cities around the world found that only two, Seattle and Singapore, managed to reach the minimum recommendation of 30% trees near their buildings.
The other six cities, New York City, Amsterdam, Buenos Aires, Denver, Sydney and Melbourne, failed the test.
New York City was particularly lacking. There are almost 0% trees near buildings that play a role in protecting people from the sun’s heat.
The study suggests that we actually need at least 40% trees to significantly reduce daytime air temperatures.
“The buildings we studied are not even reaching the minimum rate of this appropriate amount of trees,” said lead researcher Dr. Tommy Crozier at RMIT University in Melbourne, Australia.
