Health benefits of trees!

Metropoint

Rawalpindi

Residents of Rawalpindi, meeting each other at different events or generally exchanging views at chance meetings all agree that we have not had such a hot and humid summer as we have this year. After a few days of hot weather there was always relief in the form of showers that came after a dust storm, a regular cycle that kept it from being unbearable. Now the storm comes but the rain only falls in Islamabad -- as shown on our television screens -- and we get a light sprinkling that barely wets the parched earth! This leads to humidity something which we never experienced before the monsoons. 

Climate change has been blamed for weather vagaries but it’s all because we have had merciless campaigns to cut down trees in the name of development. Roads are widened without taking into consideration the number of trees that will be lost. Buildings and plazas have been built where there used to be trees -- lawns of houses have been got rid of and another house built to rent out and government offices that had large compounds now only have more living/office space with no tree in sight. No wonder we suffer from all sorts of complaints! 

Parks provide some relief but here too there is more concrete than greenery, I guess because greenery is high maintenance while concrete is not. There is a plan by the government to plant thousands of trees this monsoon and it is hoped they are indigenous ones and will be looked after as well. 

University of Chicago researchers discovered that simply living in areas with lots of trees can make a person both mentally and physically healthier. In fact, the study found that the more trees a street had, the healthier its residents were. The researchers cited several reasons for this: cleaner air (trees filter out pollution), the possibility that nearby trees may make people more likely to get outside and exercise and that trees themselves may be naturally calming to humans. Plant more trees!