By Zsuzsa Román
In our blog we seek to express the thousands of nuances of the relationships present in nature. The question becomes very interesting when we discover that we can’t observe these relationships and interactions from the outside because we are very much inside nature and a part of it.
Studies on climate change show clear evidence that global warming affects human health1. Among these effects is the increase of injuries and deaths caused by floods, heat waves, storms, and fires. However, there is also an increase in malnutrition, mental health disorders, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, changes in the spread of malaria, of infectious diseases spread by vectors2.
Taking only the specific example of summer heat waves we can note that mortality and morbidity increase. In Mediterranean cities this is “an average increase of 3% in daily mortality for increases of 1°C of the maximum apparent temperature”3 and an increase of “20%-30% of daily mortality in the over 75 year old age group”4.
On the one hand we see that heat waves are and will continue to be a real danger but on the other hand we can note that nature itself offers us shelter from heat. There are several WHO research studies organized that show the great benefit of urban parks5.
Green spaces “maintain” a city’s climate: in hot weather they can lower temperatures by up to 5 °C if they are large enough (60-80 m in diameter). Parks with tall, shady trees not only reduce heat, but also clean the air: they trap pollutants and particulate matter. It would be essential to increase the number of parks with trees in large cities, where concrete and asphalt (artificial surfaces) store heat and thus increase the city’s temperature during the hot season.
Studying the effects of increased green spaces in cities, some papers6 add other benefits, emphasizing improved quality of life and general well-being, and positive effects on mental health: on cognitive function, reduction of depression and stress, and increased psychological well-being. Other studies7 emphasize social benefits for mental health beyond stress reduction: increased social cohesion with neighbors and a decrease in violent acts and crime around replanted vacant lots.
After COP 26 such scientific findings stir us even more, given that we are tied to nature with a myriad of ties. And if we cut these ties we remain all the poorer and more miserable. If we take seriously the importance of our relationships then we can reinvigorate ourselves and our communities, giving future generations a better chance of prosperity. If we guard our relationships well and sustain them, they will guard and sustain us.
References
[1] Rapporto “Cambiamenti Climatici ed eventi estremi: rischi per la salute in Italia”, APAT, OMS, Roma 2007, p. 74.
[2] Cf. N. Watts, The 2018 report of the Lancet Countdown on health and climate change: shaping the health of nations for centuries to come, in «Lancet» 392 (2018), pp. 2479–2514.
[3] Ibid., p. 76.
[4] Ibid.
[5] Urban green space interventions and health. A review of impacts and effectiveness, WHO Regional Office per Europe, Copenhagen 2017, p. 8.
[6] Cf. Interventi sul patrimonio del verde urbano. Una guida per la progettazione partecipata., WHO Regional Office per Europe, Copenhagen 2017, p. 8.
[7] Cf. Urban green space interventions and health. A review of impacts and effectiveness, WHO Regional Office per Europe, Copenhagen 2017, pp. 46-47.
Zsuzsa Román is a specialist in public health and preventive medicine at the National Public Health Institute of Central Hungary in Budapest, member of EcoOne International and PhD student at Sophia University Institute, Italy.
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