Urban forest tempers heat waves

San Diego is being hit by another record-breaking heat wave over Labor Day weekend. As much as the skyrocketing temperatures are shocking, they are becoming routine in Southern California where the effects of climate change continue to worsen.

Amid efforts to stay cool and fight climate change, the city has a secret weapon: its urban forest. On an individual level, its easy to step under a shaded area and sense how much cooler it feels than being in direct sunlight. Expanded to a community level, a neighborhood with large, shady trees can be up to 20 degrees cooler than a neighborhood without mature trees populating the landscape.

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