Study: Parks could offset global warming

MANCHESTER, England, May 15 (UPI) -- British scientists have determined a modest increase in the number of urban parks and street trees could offset decades of predicted global warming.

University of Manchester researchers calculated a 10 percent increase in the amount of green space in city centers would reduce urban surface temperatures by as much as 7 degrees Fahrenheit.

Such a temperature reduction would be the result of the cooling effect of water as it evaporates into the air from leaves and vegetation.

"Green space collects and retains water much better than the built environment," said Roland Ennos, who led the study. "As this water evaporates from the leaves of plants and trees it cools the surrounding air in a similar way to the cooling effect of perspiration as it evaporates from our skin."

The researchers also examined the effect increased green space would have on the amount of rainwater urban areas capture and retain.

Ennos said by the 2080s, summers will be hotter and drier, but winters will become wetter.

"An extreme wet winter's day by the 2080s will deliver almost 50 percent more rain than is currently experienced," he said.

The study appears in the journal Built Environment.