Trees are more existential than it seems. In urban areas, poor people are the most likely to lack air conditioning. Trees provide shade, preventing absorbent m

Trees are more existential than it seems. In urban areas, poor people are the most likely to lack air conditioning. Trees provide shade, preventing absorbent materials below like concrete and asphalt from absorbing heat and baking; and they also evaporate water, cooling the air. As the climate continues to change, a lot of places will become more susceptible to heat-related death. Trees are a fairly uncontroversial way to mitigate at least some of that; some estimates have the cooling effect as high as 12 C. https://www.newscientist.com/article/2298675-trees-cool-the-land-surface-temperature-of-cities-by-up-to-12c/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/2298675-trees-cool-the-...