If you sit under a tree versus sitting under a cement building, you’ll notice the temperatures and feel of these two places are very different. Why? Because the water that is absorbed by a tree’s roots and leaves is turned to water vapor and then released through small holes on the underside of the leaves. This cools the air down as a result. ¹ So naturally, even if you are not sitting directly underneath a tree, but are near trees, the temperature around them is much cooler than it is in the city that is lacking them. 

Since most cities have more buildings and cement than trees, there is nowhere for the pollution that is created to be absorbed, so the air pollution level rises, making it warmer in cities.² For example, New York City is roughly 7° warmer than the areas around it.² Especially in busy cities, the amount of pollution that is created is not able to be effectively offset, and this can cause many issues to humans such as heat exhaustion and dehydration. ¹ Also, prices for energy go up since more energy is needed to stay cool.²

All of this results in not only heating up one city, but the whole world as well. There are hundreds of cities in the world, and if all of them are warming up like this, then wouldn’t the earth warm up because of this as well? The Urban Heat Island Effect is an aspect of climate change that is not discussed very often, but should be discussed more. The more we are aware of all of the issues on climate change, the better we can solve and eliminate them. 

How can we help prevent the Urban Heat Island Effect? This effect is caused by a lack of trees, so planting more trees in cities is the most impactful thing that we can do. What if there is a city with virtually no space for trees? Try a green roof. These roofs have greenery on them, and save space while caring for the environment. Also, planting trees along sidewalks is another great place to plant them where they will not take up too much space, and along the sidewalk they make for a shady walk. Just doing these simple things can cool down our cities and make them more environmentally friendly, something that we are striving to do everywhere. 🌱 🏙️

Image: Leijzer, Steijn. “photo of high-rise buildings during daytime photo.” Unsplash, 14 June 2018, https://unsplash.com/photos/bF6W6qcEVG0

1. What Is an Urban Heat Island? | NASA Climate Kids
2.  Reduce Urban Heat Island Effect | US EPA.