BOSTON — New Englanders are again preparing for the potential of another heat wave later this week.
In the short term, the options to cool off include cranking the AC or heading the beach.
Many communities around the state are also taking a long-term approach to lowering the temperature. They’re planting more trees.
And many neighborhoods around the Boston area need them. Climate Central, an independent research group, recently designated Boston as the sixth worst city in the country for “Heat Islands”.
“Heat islands have always been a problem and I think with climate change and development, Boston is having more of a problem,” said David Meshaulam, PH.D.
Meshaulam is the executive director for the non-profit Speak for the Trees Boston, which advocates for equitable distribution of trees around the city.
While standing on a side street in Dorchester that has no trees, Meshaulam explained how, on a hot day, the area can just get blasted with heat.
According the Environmental Protection Agency, a tree canopy can reduce peak temperatures by nine degrees.
Extreme heat is the leading cause of death when it comes to all forms of weather.
It’s more than the shade a tree provides which can help cool things down.
“Trees actually work like these big air conditioners where they suck up water from the ground and then, through a process called evapotranspiration, they actually cool down the whole area around them,” Meshaulam explained.
Some neighborhoods in Boston, like West Roxbury, have plenty of tree coverage while others can just get pounded by direct sunlight hour by hour.
“There’s huge disparities that fall not only along socio-economic, but also racial divides,” Meshaulam said. “You see it in areas of Boston. East Boston has the lowest tree canopy coverage in the city, one of the most diverse and one of the poorest neighborhoods in the city.”
The city of Salem is adding trees with the help of a state program called “Greening the Gateway Cities”.
Communities like Brockton, Fitchburg, Lowell, and Quincy get help planting trees in areas that are often lacking anything green.
“We have GIS maps of the city that identify locations that are considered heat islands, areas that have a lot of asphalt, concrete, glass, a lot of reflective heat,” Bob LeBlanc, Salem’s arborist, said
Homeowners can get a free tree if it can be planted strategically.
“There’s no reason why, no matter what your economic condition is, you can’t have a tree in your backyard,” LeBlanc said.
Growing trees in urban settings can be harder, but with proper care they do just fine.