Mini-forests to bring down urban heat island effect in key UP cities
Lucknow: Taking note of the increasing urban heat island effect in key cities of Uttar Pradesh, budgetary provisions will be made for the first time to create mini forests to introduce additional green cover in urban centres.
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The urban heat island effect refers to the phenomenon where higher temperature is experience in urban areas compared to rural surroundings.
In the rollout of Upvan Scheme, the 17 municipal corporations have been given a free hand to infuse up to Rs 3 crore to develop green zones over a 2,000 sq mt area under their jurisdiction. For the 2025-26 financial year, a corpus of Rs 70 crore has been created to dole out funds to urban local bodies.
The money will be utilised to address the severe impact of urban heat in areas reeling under extreme weather conditions.
"With growing urbanisation, mitigating the risk in densely populated areas has become essential. Having a crucial role to play, urban planning will have to be done in a manner to create additional green space and cooling strategies to promote sustainable development in urban areas," said principal secretary, urban development, Amrit Abhijat.
In its research report presented to the state govt in July 2024, the Uttar Pradesh State Disaster Management Authority urged the authorities to develop preventive measures to bring down heat events within the urban part of the state after carrying out district wise analysis.
Stating that the rapid urban growth in cities such as Lucknow, Kanpur, and Prayagraj has given rise to urban heat islands, the study emphasises the need to prioritise green spaces, sustainable infrastructure, and climate-smart urban planning.
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A dense urban forest planting methodology, introducing Miyawaki forests, could be the first step for the key civic bodies to lower surface temperatures. Officials said that the studies conducted by independent research scholars and educational institutes over cities in the state were going to be analysed, and the help of experts would be taken to conduct GIS (geographical information system) based studies and collate remotely sensed thermal data to zero in on locations which require intervention urgently.
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