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A major city in Colombia cooled itself by 2°C simply by planting millions of trees and shrubs—demonstrating that nature provides one of the most effective cooling solutions available.
Medellín has turned its urban environment into a cooler, more livable space through its innovative Green Corridors project, launched in 2016. The initiative planted nearly 880,000 trees and 2.5 million smaller plants along busy roads and waterways, replacing heat-trapping concrete with lush vegetation. This created an extensive network of interconnected green zones that function like natural cooling systems, reducing the city's average temperature by more than 2°C.
Beyond cooling, the project delivers wide-ranging benefits: it purifies the air, boosts urban biodiversity by welcoming back wildlife, and fosters a healthier atmosphere through shade and evapotranspiration—the natural process by which plants release water vapor. Honored with the 2019 Ashden Award for Cooling by Nature, Medellín's approach has become an inspiring model for cities worldwide seeking sustainable ways to adapt to rising temperatures and combat climate change.
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