Study Reveals Perth’s Hottest Suburbs in Terms of Tree Cover Bower Roofing 34 Unwin Ave Wembley Downs, WA 6019 Phone:08 9446 1323 Email: sales@bowerroofing.com.au
Research puts a new spin to the term ‘leafy’ suburbs. A study reveals that some of Perth’s suburbs are six degrees hotter than surrounding areas. As a result, councils continuously develop urban forests in certain locations. There is more to the issue than just the aesthetics, though. According to the Environmental Protection Authority, heat-related deaths can double in number by 2050 due to the erratic climate changes, which can affect public health. Fortunately, experts discovered the urban heat island effect to offset future effects.
The Hottest Suburbs The request of five Perth councils convinced environmental consultant Dr Paul Barber to measure canopies throughout the council. The measurements with land surface temperatures were measured through satellite data, ground-based thermal imaging and thermal monitoring. “Some of the newer, developed suburbs with small blocks and big houses and not much space for trees… are as hot as, or close to, Perth Airport by midmorning in summer,” said Dr Barber. Some of Perth’s hotter spots included Clarkson, Butler and Pierre Waters, which were less than a half degree below Perth Airport — the hottest location. Another hot suburb included was Westminster, with a land surface temperature of 35.2 degrees. Other suburbs such as Kalamunda, Glen Forrest and Subiaco were between four and six degrees cooler.
The Importance of Tree Count Evidence collected by Sydney’s University of Technology revealed bad news for people residing in Fremantle, Belmont and Canning. According to research, these councils scored the lowest for tree covering in Perth. The cause behind the unbearable heat was the rapid loss of canopy cover. According to Dr Barber, the loss of large trees was often justified by the replacement of several smaller ones. "Its replacement with three smaller advanced specimens, with a combined canopy cover of three metres, is just not adequate," he said. According to Barber, a number of trees sourced from nurseries were stunted due to numerous factors, which include insufficient soil volumes and unhealthy root systems. As a result, many replacement trees would never grow large enough, which causes extreme heat in the suburbs.
Sources: http://www.bowerroofing.com.au/home-roofs/ http://www.watoday.com.au/wa-news/research-reveals-perths-hottest-real-estate-in-terms-of-treecover-20150915-gjn834.html http://www.coolaustralia.org/treeless-suburbs-concrete-canyons-increase-city-heat/