A city like Las Vegas is actually cooler than the desert, because of all the lawns and trees inside the city. And a city like Chicago is hotter than the tree-lined suburbs surrounding it. (Photo courtesy of NASA)
Not all heat island effects are
the same. But, Rebecca Williams
reports, NASA scientists have
found there’s one thing all cities
can do to cool things down:
Transcript
Not all heat island effects are
the same. But, Rebecca Williams
reports, NASA scientists have
found there’s one thing all cities
can do to cool things down:
The NASA scientists found the heat island effect is much less intense in hot, dry parts of the country.
A city like Las Vegas is actually cooler than the desert, because of all the lawns and trees inside the city. And a city like Chicago is hotter than the tree-lined suburbs surrounding it.
It’s all about trees. Shady trees cool things down.
Lahouari Bounoua is one of the researchers.
“One of the most simple and natural ways of mitigating the excess heat is to plant trees within the cities.”
He says the key is to make sure the trees you plant are well adapted to the region, so you don’t end up wasting water. He says that’ll be even more important as the climate continues to change.
For The Environment Report, I’m Rebecca Williams.