articleProceedings of the National Academy of SciencesJan 21, 2025HYBRID OA

Global urban greening and its implication for urban heat mitigation

Chinese Academy of Sciences · Institute of Geographic Sciences and Natural Resources Research · +3 more institutions

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Abstract

Urban vegetation provides essential ecosystem services and benefits to support biodiversity and human well-being in urban areas. However, the dynamic trends, driving factors, and their implications to urban heat mitigation at the global scale remain largely unclear. Here, we used a high-resolution enhanced vegetation index (EVI) dataset to examine the vegetation dynamics in 11,235 urban areas worldwide, identify the driving factors behind its changes, and estimate the potential urban heat mitigation benefits of these changes. We found that 40.75% urban areas (1.51 Mha) evidenced a greening trend (showing increasing EVI), in contrast to 49.60% urban areas showing browning (decreasing EVI). Notably, urban…

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