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BBC News
30 minutes ago
- BBC News
Climate change could see more trees in cities to tackle heatwaves
Tree planting in city centres needs to "go harder and go faster" in order to help keep them cool ahead of future deadly heatwaves, an expert has working on the problem have said planting more trees could cut air temperatures by up to 5C (41F).Breezeways - outdoor passages with roofs that improve airflow - water features and curved buildings could also tackle the issue, but planting more trees should be the priority, said the team from Cardiff reductions from tree coverage were "significant", according to Prof Philip Jones from the Welsh School of Architecture, who led a collaboration with researchers from Hong Kong. The UK Climate Change Committee previously reported that heat-related deaths could rise from 3,000 in 2022 to more than 10,000 in an average year by team from Cardiff University previously modelled how rising temperatures could affect people in the cities of Cardiff, Newport and bodies strive to keep a core temperature of about 37C (98F) but in hot weather, the body must work harder to keep its core temperature down, which can lead to potentially fatal heat exhaustion. The team's latest research measured the success of green interventions and results suggest that planting trees could make a tangible Jones said in order to cool an area by 4-5C (39-41F) "we've got to increase the tree coverage to somewhere in the order of 30-40%".The team's computer model was designed in collaboration with researchers from the Tsinghua University Shenzhen International School and, to verify the data, the team took a specially adapted bike around Cardiff during a hot spell to measure the differences in temperature between shaded and exposed focused on Grangetown, where there has already been efforts to plant more and where the maximum tree cover has the potential to be 38%.That is "significantly higher than typical interventions", according to Prof Jones, but reaching that level could reduce average air temperatures by between 1.4C and 4C How trees could change the temperature of one residential street In 2020, Natural Resources Wales (NRW) found Cardiff had 15.1% canopy cover, Bangor had 18.6%, Wrexham had 14%, Swansea and Newport both had 18.4% There are ambitions in Newport to raise its tree cover to 25% but that requires an extra 30,000 trees and is expected to take 10 Frost, an urban green infrastructure advisor for NRW, said the planting of large tree species should start immediately. He said Wales' legislation meant "every new building that requires planning permission has to be drained naturally".Water companies were also considering this, he said, as they "can no longer fit the amount of rainwater that's going into the combined sewers".He added: "So it has to have a system where we're using natural methods to deal with the rainfall and that gives us a massive opportunity to put trees in."So they're thinking about retrofitting sustainable drainage systems into our streets. And there's a great opportunity there to put trees in. But we need to go faster and we need to go harder at this." He said if urban areas could get to the upper end of what was achievable with tree planting, then there could be significant tree canopy of 40% or above means less space between trees so pavements and walls do not heat up as much as they are in shade and it would keep cities cooler overnight too."And that's when we see most people dying of heat stress during heatwaves when they can't cool down overnight," he Frost said trees brought further advantages during winter when there was less daylight as leaves fall off deciduous trees so "that low, angled winter sun can make its way into buildings and warm you up, and then you don't have to spend quite so much on heating". Met Office modelling estimates that temperatures higher than 40C in the UK may be considered cool by the turn of the living in cities are more at risk from heatwaves than those in rural areas due to the urban heat island effect when heat is trapped by tall buildings, absorbed by tarmac and concrete and released by heating and air spaces moderate temperature through shading and by increasing the amount of water that passes into the air through a process called evapotranspiration, but there tends to be fewer shaded spaces in urban areas. Prof Jones has looked at measures to mitigate the effects of heat in places such as Hong Kong, Singapore and Miami. In Singapore, where temperatures in the city centre can be a 7C (45F) hotter than outside it, authorities are incorporating open spaces around buildings and lighter colours on walls and roofs, as well as increasing the amount of greenery in the city. Nearly half of Singapore is now green space and more than 500,000 trees have been planted since 2020 - with a target of one million by building heights and even making the corners of buildings curved are all effective ways to reduce temperatures without the need for air as trees are inexpensive and take time to reach full maturity, Prof Jones said UK cities should start planting as many as possible Welsh government said: "Trees on streets and in parks play a vital role in helping us adapt to the effects of a changing climate and in supporting wildlife in urban areas."Our Woodlands for Wales strategy explains how we want trees to be used more creatively in green infrastructure and around urban areas to provide people with better quality, easily accessible green space."
Daily Mail
30 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Labour isn't working: Sick leave in Whitehall surges under Starmer as civil servant absences jump by over a quarter in major government departments
Sick leave in the Whitehall blob is surging under Labour, analysis suggests. Absence rates jumped by up to 26 per cent in major government departments last year. Civil servants taking prolonged periods off over mental health issues was fuelling the rise, sources claimed, with tens of thousands of working days lost. And it showed Labour ministers were 'turning a blind eye' and had gone soft on trying to boost productivity in the public sector, critics said last night. The analysis comes amid wider concerns about Britain's sick-note epidemic, with 11 million 'fit notes' – which assess an individual's ability to work – doled out in England last year. Public sector workers are 60 per cent more likely to be off due to illness than those in the private sector. Foreign Secretary David Lammy's department saw one of the biggest increases, with 35,452 working days lost last year, the study found. This soared from 28,122 in 2023 and concerned 2,904 staff, up from 2,437. Alex Burghart, the Tories' Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: 'This is shocking analysis. Too many days are lost to sick leave in the Civil Service. It's unfair on taxpayers and on the staff left to carry the load. 'Ministers are turning a blind eye and the Government has gone soft on productivity. This is the last thing Britain needs when it is already struggling under Labour.' Most of the increase was due to 'long-term' absences, suggesting civil servants are calling in sick for extensive periods. Working days lost as a result of these longer periods off surged from 16,165 to 20,770, compared to a jump from 11,957 to 14,682 because of 'short-term' sickness. Staff with no such time off stood at 67 per cent, down from 72 per cent. Mental health issues fuelled a surge in absence rates, the Department for Transport said. Its annual report and accounts claimed overall 'Average Working Days Lost' per staff member last year jumped from 8.6 to 9.2 for officials at the department and linked agencies. Again, the majority (5.7) were for 'long-term' sickness, with 'mental ill health' remaining the 'largest long-term absence type'. Home Secretary Yvette Cooper's office recorded a jump of 12 per cent in the sickness leave rate. As of March 31 this year, the average working days lost to sickness per official was 7.4 days, up from 6.6 in 2024. And the Department for Education's rate surged from 5.3 to six. Angela Rayner's housing department also saw a 12 per cent jump in average working days lost due to sickness, from a rate of five in 2023 to 5.6 last year. Only 58 per cent registered 'no sickness absence', down from 63 per cent the year before. But rates at agencies linked to the department were much worse, with the days-lost rate at 8.8 – up from 5.9. Just 41 per cent suffered no sickness, down from 56 per cent. Of eight departments to have published their accounts for 2024/25, just two saw sickness rates fall or stay the same. These were the Treasury, where the rate dropped from 3.3 to 2.8 days lost on average per worker last year, and the Department for Work and Pensions (6.9 to 6.8). It comes despite Sir Keir Starmer saying in December that 'too many' civil servants 'are comfortable in the tepid bath of managed decline'. A government spokesman said: 'The civil service provides a range of tools and policies to ensure employees remain in work and are supported to return to work as quickly as possible.'
Reuters
an hour ago
- Reuters
Atai and Recognify's schizophrenia drug fails to meet main goal in trial
July 25 (Reuters) - Atai Life Sciences ( opens new tab and its partner Recognify Life Sciences said on Friday their experimental drug did not meet the main goal in a mid-stage trial for patients with schizophrenia-linked cognitive impairment. U.S.-listed shares of atai dropped about 17% in extended trading. The trial enrolled 242 patients with cognitive impairment associated with schizophrenia (CIAS), which affects memory, attention and decision-making in people with the mental illness. Recognify said patients taking the drug, inidascamine, showed some improvement in cognitive tests compared with a placebo, but the results were not statistically significant. Despite the drug missing the main goal, Recognify said patients on inidascamine showed consistent signs of improvement in areas such as processing speed and verbal learning, with positive trends on a test assessing real-world cognitive abilities. The drug was well-tolerated, with no signs of sedation, weight gain, or movement-related side effects, which are common with existing schizophrenia treatments. CIAS remains one of the most challenging and underserved areas in mental health, with no FDA-approved treatments. Atai and Recognify's setback adds to a string of failures in CIAS drug development, including last year's decision by Neurocrine Biosciences (NBIX.O), opens new tab to halt its own CIAS drug program after disappointing results. Cognitive deficits affect about 80% of people with schizophrenia, a condition that impacts roughly 24 million individuals globally, according to the World Health Organization. Standard treatment for schizophrenia typically involves antipsychotic medications that help manage hallucinations and delusions, but often do not address cognitive symptoms. Recognify, which is majority-owned by Berlin-based Atai, said it will continue to analyze full trial results and present further data at upcoming scientific meetings. Atai said it intends to focus resources on its own pipeline of psychedelic-based therapies for mood-affecting disorders, while continuing to support Recognify's efforts.
