The Shade Provided by Your City’s Trees May Diminish With Global Warming

The best cities are defined by cultural diversity, a great art and music scene, solid

restaurant selections, and access to some semblance of nature.

For many metropolises, this translates to lush and landscaped parks, designated areas where humans can get a much-needed dose of greenery and take a deep breath. Unfortunately, it seems that many of the trees that decorate our world’s parks weren’t built to withstand the

rising temperatures that are estimated to come with

climate change. 

According to a

recent study published in the journal Nature Climate Change, between 56% and 65% of tree and shrub species in more than 150 countries around the world are “exceeding temperature and precipitation conditions experienced in their geographic range.” Basically—much like us—they weren’t built for this extreme weather. 

Aside from the respite trees provide, they also cool us and the

surface of our city streets, which, amid record-breaking heat waves, is a welcome effect. To coincide with a warmer, weirder future, urban planners may have to get as creative as we’re getting in our home gardens, opting for native, drought-tolerant plants and trees that can better withstand the weather.