SEOUL, Sept. 2 (Korea Bizwire) — Street trees are more effective at cooling down city temperatures than setting up shade canopies, a study indicated Thursday.
The Seoul Institute of Technology conducted a field study in Mapo District and Jung District in July and August during the hottest part of the summer, which showed that shade under street trees was 15.4 degrees cooler than the surrounding areas. Shade under canopies was an average of 8.4 degrees lower than the surrounding area.
This indicates that shade under street trees is 7 degrees cooler than under canopies, which are 25 percent more effective in reducing heat.
There are limitations to planting street trees in front of crosswalks, however, which requires canopies to be set up as alternatives, the institute said.
The institute said that the surface temperature of green belts is 10 degrees cooler than the atmosphere.
When the outdoor temperature in Seoul Square was 32.5 degrees Celsius, the temperature of natural grass was 23.6 degrees, while the temperature of artificial turf was 47.4 degrees.
Image Credit: Yonhap / Gwangju City Government / photonews@koreabizwire.com
