“How can we protect people from extreme heat at a time of ever-increasing temperatures? A solution may be right in front of us: we need to plant more trees in the areas most at risk of heat and take better care of the trees we have.”

The summer of 2024 saw the hottest days on record, and large parts of New York City suffered multiple heat waves.

Heatwaves cause the most deaths of any weather event. Extreme heat can cause or exacerbate a variety of health problems, including heart disease, respiratory disease, mental illness, and heat illness—problems that are only likely to worsen in the future as climate change makes these events more likely.

This fact is alarming for all of us, but especially for those most exposed to extreme heat: babies, young children, the elderly, people on low incomes, people who are already ill and people from ethnic minorities.