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The Hidden Cooling System: Trees Cool the Streets and the City

by | Jul 2, 2026 | Blog

The Urban Heat Island effect is a very well-known consequence of a city’s architecture. Black pavement, buildings, and other structures absorb sunlight and emit it back into the atmosphere, heating the city much more than a forested area. This is a very dramatic effect, creating a difference of 1-7℉ between cities and rural area temperatures. Do you ever feel the heat radiating off the pavement in a parking lot? Suddenly the weather doesn’t seem very bearable anymore. This effect occurs throughout cities as they are highly paved, leaving little room for nature. This can create issues for city dwellers who suffer from asthma or other respiratory illnesses, and causes an increase in heat-related illnesses in urban areas. As cities continue to experience elevated temperatures, city planners and landscape architects have turned to trees and green spaces as a method of reducing the impacts of the urban heat island effect.

But why trees? Trees provide shade, which, in urban areas, prevents sunlight from being absorbed by pavement. In addition, trees complete a process called evapotranspiration, which is when trees absorb water from the ground and then evaporate this water through their leaves. The atmospheric cooling is a byproduct of this process, as the trees use warm air from the atmosphere to evaporate water, creating a cooling effect around them.

A study used models to adjust the tree cover across 93 European cities and found that increasing the tree cover to 30% could eliminate 2,644 out of 6,700 premature heat-related deaths in these 93 cities. In a world where the climate becomes a more present threat, it is even more important to do everything we can to regulate temperatures in urban areas, even if the difference seems small. An Environmental Health Perspectives article found that with each 1℉ increase in temperature during a heat wave, mortality risk rates increase by 2.49%. During a heat wave, 1℉ may not seem like a lot, but it does make a significant difference, even the difference between life and death for some. Having trees present in urban areas can reduce the intensity of heat waves, decreasing the mortality risk rates during these events.

At Global Health and Education Projects, Inc., we understand the importance of living in an urban or suburban area where you can feel comfortable, safe, and healthy. Utilizing the immense benefits of trees will allow your neighborhood and your family to thrive. Want to get your free trees, check out our Family Tree Adoption Program.

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