Urban green spaces have vital role in cutting heat-related deaths, study finds

 

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. Photograph: Peter Eastland/Alamy

 

Green spaces in cities play a vital role in reducing illness and deaths caused by climate breakdown, according to the most comprehensive study of its kind.

The findings of the review suggest that adding more parks, trees and greenery to urban areas could help countries tackle heat-related harms and improve public health.

The record for the world’s hottest day tumbled twice in one week earlier this year when the global average surface air temperature reached 17.15C (62.87F) breaking the record of 17.09C set days earlier.

The climate crisis is driving up global temperatures as greenhouse gas emissions released when humans burn fossil fuels warm the Earth’s atmosphere.

 

The overall beneficial effects of green spaces is well established, 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 suggests 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 vital role in mitigating heat-related health risks, offering a potential strategy for urban planning to address climate change and enhance public health,” the researchers wrote in the journal BMJ Open.

“A review of urban greenery and its effect 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,” they added.

“Studies have found that areas with more green space have lower rates of heat-related morbidity and mortality compared with areas with less green space. Moreover, urban greenery can also have a positive impact on mental health and wellbeing, which can also contribute to reducing the negative health effects of high temperatures.”

In recognition of the harmful heat-related effects of climate breakdown, one of the UN’s sustainable development targets stipulates the provision of universal access to safe and accessible green and public spaces, especially for vulnerable groups, such as children, elderly people, and those living with long-term conditions, by 2030.

For the review, researchers looked at the effects of green zones on death and ill health in urban areas across the globe, drawing on relevant published research.

They included content published in English between January 2000 and December 2022, and reviewed 12 studies out of an initial haul of more than 3,000 from Hong Kong, Australia, Vietnam, the US, South Korea, Portugal and Japan.

 

These included epidemiological, modelling, and simulation studies, as well as experimental research and quantitative analyses.

The review showed that urban green spaces such as parks and trees could help offset the adverse health effects of high temperatures. Areas with more green space had lower rates of heat-related ill health and death than areas with less green space, particularly among vulnerable groups.

Access to green spaces is an example of health inequalities facing people worldwide.

A Guardian investigation revealed earlier this year that children at the top 250 private schools in England had more than 10 times as much green space as those who go to state schools.

Doctors also warned that a “truly alarming” lack of access to green space for some families was exacerbating the child obesity crisis.

 

23 dead as Typhoon Ketsana roars into Vietnam

Typhoon Ketsana roared into central Vietnam on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people as it brought flooding and winds of up to 90 mph (144 kph), disaster officials said. Some 170,000 were evacuated from its path.

Ketsana left more than 200 dead across the northern Philippines as a weaker tropical storm.

After gathering strength over the South China Sea, the typhoon made landfall in midafternoon, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Danang, according to the National Weather Center.

Two people in Quang Nam province were killed by falling trees, and another died when struck by a power line, said Nguyen Minh Tuan, a provincial disaster official.

"The rivers are rising and many homes are flooded, and several mountainous districts have been isolated by mudslides," Tuan said.

Another three died in Thua Thien Hue province, disaster official Le Minh said. A man was killed by a falling tree, a woman died in floodwaters and a 3-year-old drowned in a flooded home.

As the storm moved inland toward Laos, nine people died in Kon Tum province in the Central Highlands, including a family of five whose house was buried in a mudslide, disaster official Nguyen Van Vy said.

Deaths were also reported in Danang and the province of Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai.

Some flooding was reported in Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Quang Nam province, but no serious damage was reported.

The storm weakened as it approached Laos, and by Tuesday evening, the rain had stopped along some parts of the coast.

River levels were still rising, however, and more rains are forecast for the region Wednesday.

Authorities evacuated 170,000 people from six central provinces as the typhoon approached and heavy winds began lashing Vietnam's central coast in the morning, officials said.

"There's a blackout across our entire province," said Truong Ngoc Nhi, vice governor of Quang Ngai province, south of Danang. "Streets are strewn with fallen trees and utility poles. It looks like a battlefield."

Vietnam Airlines canceled all flights to the tourist destinations of Danang and Hue and travelers were stranded along the central coast.

The typhoon ruined the wedding of Bui Thi Anh Nguyet, a 24-year-old-bride who consulted a fortune teller before setting the date for her nuptials.

According to Vietnamese tradition, the groom comes to the bride's hometown, picks her up and brings her to his hometown for the wedding. Nguyet had planned to marry in Danang, but the wedding party got stuck in Binh Dinh province, some 300 kilometers (180 miles) from Danang.

"We had been preparing for this wedding since January, and we chose today as our most auspicious and happiest day, but now we are stranded," Tuyet said telephone. "Parts of the highway are flooded. I don't know how long we'll be stuck here."

23 dead as Typhoon Ketsana roars into Vietnam

Typhoon Ketsana roared into central Vietnam on Tuesday, killing at least 23 people as it brought flooding and winds of up to 90 mph (144 kph), disaster officials said. Some 170,000 were evacuated from its path.

Ketsana left more than 200 dead across the northern Philippines as a weaker tropical storm.

After gathering strength over the South China Sea, the typhoon made landfall in midafternoon, about 37 miles (60 kilometers) south of Danang, according to the National Weather Center.

Two people in Quang Nam province were killed by falling trees, and another died when struck by a power line, said Nguyen Minh Tuan, a provincial disaster official.

"The rivers are rising and many homes are flooded, and several mountainous districts have been isolated by mudslides," Tuan said.

Another three died in Thua Thien Hue province, disaster official Le Minh said. A man was killed by a falling tree, a woman died in floodwaters and a 3-year-old drowned in a flooded home.

As the storm moved inland toward Laos, nine people died in Kon Tum province in the Central Highlands, including a family of five whose house was buried in a mudslide, disaster official Nguyen Van Vy said.

Deaths were also reported in Danang and the province of Binh Dinh and Quang Ngai.

Some flooding was reported in Hoi An, a UNESCO World Heritage site in Quang Nam province, but no serious damage was reported.

The storm weakened as it approached Laos, and by Tuesday evening, the rain had stopped along some parts of the coast.

River levels were still rising, however, and more rains are forecast for the region Wednesday.

Authorities evacuated 170,000 people from six central provinces as the typhoon approached and heavy winds began lashing Vietnam's central coast in the morning, officials said.

"There's a blackout across our entire province," said Truong Ngoc Nhi, vice governor of Quang Ngai province, south of Danang. "Streets are strewn with fallen trees and utility poles. It looks like a battlefield."

Vietnam Airlines canceled all flights to the tourist destinations of Danang and Hue and travelers were stranded along the central coast.

The typhoon ruined the wedding of Bui Thi Anh Nguyet, a 24-year-old-bride who consulted a fortune teller before setting the date for her nuptials.

According to Vietnamese tradition, the groom comes to the bride's hometown, picks her up and brings her to his hometown for the wedding. Nguyet had planned to marry in Danang, but the wedding party got stuck in Binh Dinh province, some 300 kilometers (180 miles) from Danang.

"We had been preparing for this wedding since January, and we chose today as our most auspicious and happiest day, but now we are stranded," Tuyet said telephone. "Parts of the highway are flooded. I don't know how long we'll be stuck here."

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) broke the ground of an US$80 million bio-ethanol plant in Dung Quat Economic Zone, central Quang

Construction of the plant, the largest of its kind in the central region, will last for 18 months.

Using cassava as raw material, the plant has a designed capacity of 100,000 cubic meter of ethanol per year.

Once operational, the plant will provide a cheap bio-fuel source for gasoline production, helping lessen the amount of imported petroleum and reduce carbon dioxide exhaustion to the environment, said a representative of PetroVietnam Technical Services Joint Stock Corporation (PTSC), the project’s contractor.

It will offer jobs for local people, thus helping increase their earning and contributing to hunger alleviation and poverty reduction.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, PetroVietnam Financial Joint Stock Corporation (PVFC), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB), the Ocean Bank, the Lien Viet Bank and the central region’s Petroleum Bio-Fuel Joint Stock Company signed a credit contract worth nearly VND1 trillion for the project.

The plant, the second of its kind being built by PetroVietnam in Vietnam, is part of the country’s bio-fuel development plan to 2015 with a vision to 2025.

Earlier, PetroVietnam kicked-off the construction of a bio-ethanol plant in northern Phu Tho province. The group plans to build the third one in southern Binh Phuoc province in 2010.

According to PetroVietnam, 47 percent of ethanol in the world is extracted from sugarcane and 53 percent from starch.

In Vietnam, ethanol is currently produced mainly by Hiep Hoa Sugar Factory, Lam Son Sugar Factory and Binh Tay Beverage Factory, which churn out 15,000-30,000 liters of ethanol per day.

The Vietnam National Oil and Gas Group (PetroVietnam) broke the ground of an US$80 million bio-ethanol plant in Dung Quat Economic Zone, central Quang

Construction of the plant, the largest of its kind in the central region, will last for 18 months.

Using cassava as raw material, the plant has a designed capacity of 100,000 cubic meter of ethanol per year.

Once operational, the plant will provide a cheap bio-fuel source for gasoline production, helping lessen the amount of imported petroleum and reduce carbon dioxide exhaustion to the environment, said a representative of PetroVietnam Technical Services Joint Stock Corporation (PTSC), the project’s contractor.

It will offer jobs for local people, thus helping increase their earning and contributing to hunger alleviation and poverty reduction.

At the ground-breaking ceremony, PetroVietnam Financial Joint Stock Corporation (PVFC), the Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV), the Bank for Foreign Trade of Vietnam (VCB), the Ocean Bank, the Lien Viet Bank and the central region’s Petroleum Bio-Fuel Joint Stock Company signed a credit contract worth nearly VND1 trillion for the project.

The plant, the second of its kind being built by PetroVietnam in Vietnam, is part of the country’s bio-fuel development plan to 2015 with a vision to 2025.

Earlier, PetroVietnam kicked-off the construction of a bio-ethanol plant in northern Phu Tho province. The group plans to build the third one in southern Binh Phuoc province in 2010.

According to PetroVietnam, 47 percent of ethanol in the world is extracted from sugarcane and 53 percent from starch.

In Vietnam, ethanol is currently produced mainly by Hiep Hoa Sugar Factory, Lam Son Sugar Factory and Binh Tay Beverage Factory, which churn out 15,000-30,000 liters of ethanol per day.