City trees turn winds into breezes

The Times U.K. highlighted UBC research into the impact of trees on climate in cities.

Marco Giometto, a former postdoctoral fellow in civil engineering, used a detailed simulation of a Vancouver neighbourhood to calculate the impact of having trees or no trees, and found that removing all trees could increase wind speed by a factor of two. Study co-author Marc Parlange also noted that even bare branches help reduce pressure loading on buildings.