Enhancing Climate-Driven Urban Tree Cooling with Targeted Nonclimatic Interventions

Urban trees play a pivotal role in mitigating heat, yet the global determinants and patterns of their cooling efficiency (CE) remain elusive. Here, we quantify the diel CE of 229 cities across four climatic zones and employ a machine-learning model to assess the influence of variables on CE. We found that for every 10% increase in tree cover, surface temperatures are reduced by 0.25 °C during the day and 0.04 °C at night. Trees in humid regions exhibit the highest daytime CE, while those in arid zones demonstrate the greatest cooling effect at night. This can be explained by the difference in canopy density between the humid and arid zones. During the day, the high canopy density in the humid zone converts…

• NN
  National Natural Science Foundation of China

  Award: 42171093
• SA
  Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality

  Award: 21PJ1401600
• SK
  Shanghai Key Laboratory for Urban Ecological Processes and Eco-Restoration

  Award: SHUES2021A02
• NK
  National Key Research and Development Program of China

  Award: 2024YFF1307000
• SA
  Scientific and Innovative Action Plan of Shanghai

  Award: 21ZR1408500