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Photos by @jameswhitlowdelano
Interesting pushback to the Heat Island Effect/urban deforestation post using an argument similar to what a Malaysian logging conglomerate might use. Apologies to those who draw offense when facts & evidence get in the way of a good narrative.
Image #1: Heat Island Effect: In the midday sun in Tokyo on this July day it is 45.7 C (114.3 F). The Heat Island Effect in Tokyo is exacerbated by urban deforestation. Seijo is in Tokyo's Setagaya Ku (Ward), which has suffered a 34.7% tree cover loss since 2013, according to a University of Tokyo, Department of Natural Environmental Studies research paper, intensifying the heat island effect in urban Tokyo.
In "leafy" districts, like Seijo, few trees exceed 3 - 4 meters in height because few houses stand long enough for the trees to reach mature height or the trees are assiduously pruned to avoid shedding leaves, seeds or fruit on neighbors' properties.
When a house in Tokyo is demolished, rarely lasting longer than 25 years, the entire property is razed, including removing all trees or shrubs, leaving bare ground.
Seijo, Setagaya-Ku, Tokyo, Japan
Image# 2: On a treeless street, parallel to this one, in the direct sun, just steps away from this shaded street in Tokyo's Seijo neighborhood, the sun drove the temperature up to 45.7 C (114.3 F).
Treelined streets like this one are so rare in Tokyo's Setagayu Ku (Ward), that Seijo is famous for these "sakura" cherry trees. Despite being a blistering 37.5C (99.5 F) under the tree canopy, the temperature drops by 8.1 C (14.6 F) compared to its parallel asphalt neighbor exposed to the punishing rays of the sun.
Image#3: When older residential structures, which rarely last more than 25 years in Tokyo, are razed, the property is wiped clean of all trees or shrubs that shaded the ground.
Image# 4: The Sengawa (Sen River), which separates Seijo from Soshigaya in Setagaya Ku (ward) in Tokyo, is sealed in concrete. If rivers are not reduced, like this one, to a concrete trough, they are walled or leveed as part of massive flood control projects in this densely-populated, typhoon-prone country. #climatechange #heatislandeffect
