Scientists say cutting trees could worsen urban heat

Srinagar, May 10: When the white cotton-like fluff drifts through Kashmir every May, a familiar demand makes rounds – cut the poplar trees.

The seasonal visual spectacle has increasingly been blamed for allergies, asthma and respiratory distress across Kashmir.

But medical experts, forestry scientists and environmental researchers call this a misconception that could strip Kashmir of a major green cover, catastrophic for intensifying urban heat and ecological stress.

The plant scientists and human researchers have been crying hoarse that the visible “cotton” is “not pollen” but aborted seeds with silky hairs from female trees.

These are parachutes for dispersal, too large to penetrate the human airways and cause an allergy. The fluff itself is non-allergenic cellulose fibers. Thousands of Russian poplars (Populus deltoids) were introduced in the 1980s in Kashmir for timber and agroforestry.

The trees are majorly females, lacking males for full pollination, true poplar pollen is minimal.

Well known pulmonologist Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, who is heads the department of pulmonology at GMC Srinagar said pollens from grasses, weeds, trees, and other plants drive most allergic reactions.

“But these are invisible,” he said. “We blame what we see, the fluff, which is not logical. No doubt the fluff is a nuisance and can be a carrier for other pollen.”

He advised masking up when outside to minimize allergies.

The pollen allergy season starts in March, but the anti-tree movement reaches crescendo in May, when the fluff of poplars is everywhere.

University of Kashmir botanist Akhter H Malik has said that invisible airborne pollen from grasses, weeds, trees, and other plants drives most allergic reactions.

Despite getting a clean chit from scientists, thousands of poplar trees have been felled in parts of Kashmir under public pressure and administrative campaigns.

Environmentalists warn large-scale cutting of poplar trees could strip Srinagar and other urban centres of Kashmir of one of their fastest-growing green buffers.

This could have dire consequences, especially at a time when Kashmir is witnessing rapid urbanisation, expanding concrete cover and declining vegetation.

The threat is no longer theoretical.

Research on Srinagar’s urban expansion has documented the growing impact of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect.

UHI is a phenomenon where cities become significantly warmer than surrounding rural areas as concrete, asphalt and dense constructions trap heat.

The vegetation on the other hand,

trees decrease the UHI effect by providing shade and cooling the air through evapotranspiration.

Trees are nature’s coolers, and poplars constitute nearly one-third of tree cover in urban Kashmir.

In addition, trees trap particulate pollution and moderate microclimates. In dense urban corridors, tree cover can substantially reduce daytime heat stress.

Satellite-based studies tracking of Srinagar between 1992 and 2013 has found rising land surface temperatures linked to urban growth and vegetation loss.

The effect was reported to be from around 13 degrees Celsius to 22 degrees Celsius in studied periods.

Environmentalists believe that it is important to dispel the notion that poplars are the enemy of the health of Kashmiris.

These are living infrastructure providing oxygen, shade, and economic backbone.

The real allergy drivers and heat challenges demand broader solutions. .

With record heat waves hitting most parts of India, including Kashmir, losing these fast-maturing giants would exacerbate UHI, especially in expanding urban areas.

Their rapid growth, harvestable in 8- 10 years, has an economic value to farmers that is irreplaceable. In addition, these are practical allies in climate resilience and not just aesthetic features.