Green spaces in cities play a crucial role in reducing diseases and deaths caused by climate change, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.
The study’s findings suggest that adding more parks, trees and greenery to urban areas could help countries tackle heat-related damage and improve public health.
The record for the world’s hottest day fell twice in one week earlier this year, when the global average surface temperature reached 17.15°C (62.87F), breaking the record of 17.09°C set a few days earlier broken.
The climate crisis is causing global temperatures to rise as greenhouse gas emissions released when humans burn fossil fuels warm the Earth’s atmosphere.
The overall beneficial effects of green spaces are well known, but until now their effects on heat-related health risks were poorly understood.
Now a review of the evidence led by the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine shows that abundant green space in urban areas is linked to lower rates of heat-related illness and deaths, as well as better mental health and wellbeing.
“Urban green spaces play a critical role in mitigating heat-related health risks and offer a potential urban planning strategy to tackle climate change and improve public health,” the researchers wrote in the journal BMJ Open.
“A review of urban green space and its impact on heat-related morbidity and mortality suggests that urban green spaces, such as parks and trees, can have a positive impact on reducing the negative health effects associated with high temperatures,” she added .
“Research has shown that areas with more green space have lower heat-related morbidity and mortality compared to areas with less green space. Furthermore, urban greenery can also have a positive impact on mental health and well-being, which can also help reduce the negative health effects of high temperatures.”
In recognition of the harmful heat-related effects of climate change, one of the UN Sustainable Development Goals stipulates providing universal access to safe and accessible green and public spaces, especially for vulnerable groups, such as children, the elderly and people living with long-term conditions, by 2030.
For the review, researchers looked at the effects of green zones on mortality and poor health in urban areas around the world, based on relevant published research.
They included content published in English between January 2000 and December 2022, and reviewed 12 studies from an initial wave of more than 3,000 studies from Hong Kong, Australia, Vietnam, the US, South Korea, Portugal and Japan.
These include epidemiological, modeling and simulation studies, as well as experimental research and quantitative analyses.
The study found that urban green spaces such as parks and trees can help offset the adverse health effects of high temperatures. In areas with more green space, the number of heat-related health problems and deaths was lower than in areas with less green space, especially among vulnerable groups.
Access to green spaces is an example of the health inequalities faced by people around the world.
A Guardian survey earlier this year found that children attending the top 250 private schools in England had more than ten times as much green space as children attending state schools.
Doctors also warned that a “truly alarming” lack of access to green space for some families was worsening the childhood obesity crisis.