"Street Trees More Effective Than Shade Sails Against Heatwaves"…Street Tree Shade Lowers Temperature by Over 15℃ Compared to Surroundings

Seoul Institute of Technology Announces Heat Reduction and Thermal Imaging Sensor Analysis Results
Natural Grass and Other Green Surfaces Show Average Surface Temperature 10℃ Lower Than Air Temperature

[Asia Economy Reporter Lim Cheol-young] An analysis of the effectiveness of facilities that can reduce urban heat during heatwaves, such as street trees and cooling fog, revealed that street trees are more effective than shade shelters.

According to the Seoul Institute on the 31st, this analysis was conducted to establish the optimal application plan for technologies that can respond to heatwaves. For this purpose, the institute carried out field surveys for four weeks from July 25 to August 18 in the Mapo-gu and Jung-gu areas.

The survey results showed that the shade from street trees was 15.4℃ lower than the surrounding area, while the shade from shade shelters was 8.4℃ lower. Street trees had a surface temperature 7℃ lower than shade shelters, making them 25% more effective in reducing heat.

The institute also confirmed that the surface temperature of green spaces is on average about 10℃ lower than the air temperature. When the temperature at Seoul City Hall Plaza was 32.5℃, the natural grass in green spaces was 23.6℃, while artificial turf was 47.4℃.

Additionally, green facilities such as wall greening and rooftop greening had surface temperatures 16.7℃ lower than building exteriors and 25.9℃ lower than rooftop floors, indicating that creating green spaces like natural grass is effective in reducing urban heat.

Furthermore, the cooling fog installed by Seoul City Hall as a heatwave countermeasure reduced heat by 12℃ compared to the surrounding area, and ground fountains reduced heat by 23.8℃ compared to their surroundings.

Based on the results of this study, the Seoul Institute of Technology plans to complete the development of an optimal heat reduction facility module within the year. This module will enable appropriate placement and planned installation of technologies in high-temperature concentration zones (hotspots) and areas with high citizen usage and activity across Seoul. The institute will cooperate with Seoul City to support and utilize this module.

Lim Sung-eun, Director of the Seoul Institute of Technology, stated, “The Seoul Institute of Technology will ensure that heat reduction technologies are used timely and appropriately within urban areas of Seoul to reduce the inconvenience caused to Seoul citizens by heatwaves. We will continue to develop precise technical solutions tailored to each region and facility.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.