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Letter: We've paved over paradise and made it hot as hell

Published 1 January 2025

From Merlin Reader, London, UK

Pertaining to the problem of urban heat, many suburban roads in the UK have effectively more than doubled in width, as front gardens have been largely or completely paved over. As well as a loss of wildlife habitat, this has significantly increased the heat island effect. In my street, less than 5 per cent of front gardens are at least half lawn or shrubs, while more than 90 per cent are completely paved (23 November 2024, p 36).

Issue no. 3524 published 4 January 2025

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