HOT SPELL TAKES OVER S. KOREA

[Anchor Lead]

The Korean Peninsula is gripped by a hot spell. Temperatures in urban areas are especially high because of buildings and roads. A thermal camera experiment shows natural green spaces in cities offer relief from the hot weather.

[Pkg]

Daytime highs in Daejeon have soared to 34 degrees Celsius recently. But many people can be seen strolling through the Hanbat Arboretum located in the heart of the city.

[Soundbite] Yoon Young-jin(Daejeon resident) : "It’s cooler in the woods and the air is clean. I like to take a stroll here whenever I have time."

Thermal camera images of the arboretum and nearby buildings show a contrasting atmosphere. The temperature in the arboretum is in the low 30s, whereas that of nearby buildings is significantly higher at nearly 50 degrees. The temperature of the reporter’s face after spending ten minutes in the sun surged to 39.5 degrees, but when he entered the woods, it fell to 36.3 degrees in just 10 minutes. Forests reflect sun rays better than buildings. Tree leaves absorb the heat by emitting vapor.

[Soundbite] Seo Hong-deok(National Institute of Forest Science) : "The three factors explained earlier help to lower temperatures of urban forests by 3-7 degrees celsius."

Urban forests also contribute to reducing microdust by up to 42 percent.

[Soundbite] Kim Joo-yeol(Korea Forest Service) : "If we were to build many urban forests, urban cities would naturally become forest cities. That’s our goal and we are working towards it."

The Korea Forest Service plans to expand the area of urban forests from the current 54000 ha to 71000 ha by 2050.