Surat (Gujarat) [India], January 17: Viral Desai, the Green Man, has been instrumental in creating seven urban forests in and around Surat city over the past five years. His mission? To improve the biodiversity and air quality of Surat, a city of over a million people, while simultaneously reducing its overall temperature.
Remarkably, these urban forests are now the subject of scientific research. A recent three-and-a-half-month study by SVNIT, a premier technical institute in India, revealed astonishing findings about ‘Shahid Smriti Van’, an urban forest created by Desai in Udhna. The study found that this forest has led to a significant reduction of 10.66% in PM 2.5 and 18.66% in PM 10 particles in the local air. These particles are primarily responsible for causing COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) in humans.
The positive impact of these urban forests on the city’s air quality has fueled Desai’s passion, driving him to create even more. To date, he has planted over 650,000 trees.
