London's Trees Dying as Climate Turns Semi-Arid — SkimNews
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- Kevin Martin, head of Kew Gardens' 11,000-tree collection, estimates at least 400 trees died this summer, matching the record mortality seen in 2022, with common beech hit hardest.
- Trees for Cities reports half of the young saplings it planted in London over the past year died this summer, far below the normal 80-90% survival rate.
- London's trees currently cool the city by up to 5°C, according to Friends of the Earth research, making widespread canopy loss a direct heat-resilience threat.
- Research published by Kew's team in November 2025 projects 73% of London's public trees will die or struggle under 2090 climate conditions, with just 0.38% of current species rated highly suitable.
- Martin says south-east England is transitioning from a temperate to a semi-arid climate, forcing a wholesale rethink of the Victorian-era lime, plane, oak and beech canopy.
- Kew Gardens is trialling seeds from drought-tolerant lime, hornbeam and beech collected in the Eurasian steppe, while Trees for Cities is switching to ginkgo and European nettle tree.
- Kenton Rogers at Treeconomics says local authorities have capital funding to buy trees but lack money to maintain them, arguing for fewer plantings backed by stronger aftercare.
Why it matters: With 73% of London's public trees projected to die or struggle by 2090 and current sapling survival at 50% instead of 80-90%, the capital faces a cooling crisis that undercuts Mayor Sadiq Khan's canopy expansion target. Achieving it requires not just more planting but a wholesale shift to drought-tolerant Eurasian steppe species — and sustained maintenance funding local authorities currently lack.
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