Both Hastings and Guildford rank above the European average for urban tree cover. This trend is with Manchester leading the cities in England.
Analysis by the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU) of Copernicus satellite data covering 767 European towns & cities finds the UK ranks 31st of 38 countries for urban tree cover. It’s only ahead of Serbia, Ireland, Kosovo, Montenegro, Malta, and Cyprus, besides Iceland.
This finding comes after England experienced its hottest June on record. The Met Office issued its first-ever red extreme heat warnings for three consecutive days.
The average urban area in the UK is only 17.9% covered by trees. This figure is significantly lower than the European average, which is around 30%. This amounts to a gap of nearly 12 percentage points. Of the 47 UK cities & urban areas in the dataset, as many as 45 of them fall below the European average. None appear in Europe’s top 200. London ranks 565th of 767 at a mere 18% cover.
The gap is most pronounced when compared to cities that regularly experience much higher temperatures than those Britain has faced so far. Barcelona (31%), Madrid (29%), Marseille (29%), and Nice (39%) all have more tree canopy coverage. Marseille (29%), besides Nice (39%), has more canopy than any large UK city. The greenest major British conurbation, Greater Manchester, manages 27%.
Senior Analyst, Carbon & Land at the Energy & Climate Intelligence Unit (ECIU), Tom Cantillon said that this recent stream of heatwaves is a stark reminder that climate change is disproportionately hitting the less well-off & vulnerable in less affluent parts of cities, which are more likely to be covered in concrete besides heating up more. However, they are also the areas least able to afford the tech fixes that were previously unnecessary. In the here & now, air conditioning to prevent overheating of schools, hospitals & homes of the sick, very young & elderly is clearly needed to try to protect people’s health. With temperatures set to increase ever higher until Britain reaches net zero emissions & brings back balance to the climate, the UK may need to plan ahead.
