New study finds: Trees in the city reduce mortality - but in Israel they continue to cut them down
A new Northwestern University study shows that increasing urban tree canopy coverage reduces overall mortality by 10%. Despite this, Israel continues to cut down trees at a high rate.
The summer heat brought high temperatures to Israeli cities this week. It was hard to leave the house onto the exposed concrete without feeling the scorching sun and immediately calculating the fastest escape route to the destination, or to the shadiest corner in the area. Anyone living in cities that cut down more and more trees and cultivate plastic lawns and wide roads feels the lack of trees well in the summer. Now a new study determines: as trees disappear from urban neighborhoods, human lives are lost with them. If your mayor has decided to shade the city with trees with a wide canopy, it is possible that he has thus reduced the annual mortality by 10%.
Scientists at Northwestern University tracked mortality rates and fluctuations in tree canopy coverage over 11 years in Chicago. They analyzed data of over 220,000 deaths alongside high-resolution satellite data of tree coverage, temperature, and demographic and socio-economic indicators. The researchers found that a positive year-to-year change in the tree canopy led to a decrease of about 10% in general mortality. The increase in the tree canopy led, among other things, to a 16% decrease in mortality from mental illnesses, an 11% decrease in mortality from respiratory diseases, a 9% decrease in mortality from cardiovascular diseases, and a 9% decrease in mortality due to musculoskeletal problems.
Fatal heat injury in weak neighborhoods
Residents of poor neighborhoods in cities suffer much more from the lack of shade on the streets. The researchers divided Chicago into five distinct areas and revealed socio-economic and environmental gaps: strong neighborhoods enjoy lower temperatures, while weak neighborhoods suffer from mortality rates 2.5 times higher. Simulations run as part of the study showed that even a modest addition of only 0.03% to the annual tree coverage can prevent 105 unnecessary deaths each year, with 55% of these savings occurring in the city's poor neighborhoods.
The researchers emphasize that preserving mature trees is more important than planting new ones, as young saplings need years to develop wide crowns, while mature trees already provide extensive cooling zones.
National Urban Cooling Program
In 2023, Israel announced a National Urban Cooling Program, but the program has not been budgeted since the government changed. The State Comptroller's report revealed that in dense urban areas, the air temperature is about 2 to 12 degrees higher than outside the cities, yet about 90% of the urban area in Israel is without shade.
While global studies indicate that trees save lives, Israel continues to cut down trees in droves: between 2014 and 2023, 761,782 trees were cut down under license in urban spaces, with 144,230 trees removed in 2024 alone. The situation is further complicated by the fact that since the beginning of 2026, it has been impossible to investigate and prosecute illegal logging, as the Minister of National Security, Itamar Ben Gvir, has not signed the authorization for inspectors. Fines remain low at 7,500 shekels per tree.
Minister Itamar Ben Gvir responded: "The Ministry of National Security is in constant contact with the Nature and Parks Authority, and the issue of powers has not been on the agenda at any stage. At this stage, the issue is under inter-ministerial review and when a decision is made, we will update with the relevant means."
