雅思听力

🎧 Listening Transcript

Today in our environmental science lecture, we'll discuss urban green spaces. Recent studies show that city parks can reduce local temperatures by up to 5 degrees Celsius during heatwaves. This cooling effect is mainly due to shade from trees and water evaporation from plants. However, the benefits depend on park size and design. Small pocket parks with scattered trees have less impact than large connected green areas. Also, parks with water features like ponds or fountains tend to be cooler than those without. Interestingly, researchers found that even grass lawns alone, without trees, can lower ground temperature by about 2 degrees. So, when planning new residential areas, integrating multiple small green spaces might be more practical than one large park, though the latter provides better cooling for surrounding neighborhoods.