Name: Colombia’s Medellin combats rising heat with green corridors
Uploaded: 2025-04-22T00:25:18.702Z
Duration: 2 min 37 s
Description: In Medellin, Colombia, green corridors filled with trees and plants are helping cool the urban environment. Launched in 2016, the project has reduced temperatures by up to 2°C in key areas and helped trap pollution.

In Medellin, Colombia, green corridors filled with trees and plants are helping cool the urban environment. Launched in 2016, the project has reduced temperatures by up to 2°C in key areas and helped trap pollution.

Medellín

Extreme weather events are occurring more frequently amid rising sea-levels and increasing temperatures.

Climate Crisis

In Medellin, Colombia, a unique initiative is effectively addressing the challenge of rising urban temperatures through the development of green corridors. These corridors, filled with trees and plants, were introduced in 2016 to mitigate the effects of the city's increasingly scorching heat. The lush pathways connect parks, roads, and streams, offering a respite from the cement-laden environment. This project has successfully lowered temperatures by approximately 2°C in key areas of the city.

Gardener Irina Montoya, alongside many others, is involved in the upkeep of this extensive network of greenery. The presence of these corridors not only helps in reducing heat but also in trapping pollution. Residents appreciate the transformation, noting improvements in the greenness, safety, and walkability of their neighborhoods. Additionally, the reintroduction of birds and other fauna to urban areas underscores the project's positive environmental impact.

President Estrid Barrera indicates that Medellin's initiative is still evolving, with an emphasis on experimenting with different tree species like mangoes, which are particularly effective at trapping pollution particles. This experience has underscored the importance of innovation and adaption to boost urban sustainability. The success of Medellin’s green corridors has garnered international acclaim, offering a replicable model for other cities seeking to address urban heat and pollution concerns.



Colombia’s Medellin combats rising heat with green corridors

As cars zoom by along Medellin's busy Avenida Oriental, Irina Montoya is weeding a thick strip of tree-lined greenery running between the lanes. She's part of an army of gardeners maintaining a huge network of hundreds of thousands of trees and plants across the city. I love keeping the city clean. I really love it. And apart from that, these plants help us beat the heat that we feel in Medellin. I think the plants are very important and also very pretty. Nestled in a narrow and deep valley, Medellin's once-perfect, year-round, spring-like weather had turned in recent years into a scorching heat, until local authorities devised a solution. Lush, tree-filled pathways connecting parks, roads and streams where cement once ruled, known as green corridors. We were growing very fast, building roads, infrastructure, pavements and all, and we had forgotten about our strengths, our mountains, parks, hills, that are part of the city, and that's when our people started to demand change. Since the project's inception in 2016, the corridors have helped cool the city by an average of two degrees Celsius in key areas, entrapping pollution, among other benefits. We started seeing birds and other fauna returning to the city, again able to come down from the mountains to reach and feed in our parks, and having again a city that is connected to nature. Residents say the corridor have made their neighborhoods greener, safer and more walkable. Besides the corridors, massive vertical gardens like this one are also part of the project that has been so successful in cooling down the city that it gained international recognition. Forest engineer Estrid Barrera says they're now focusing on trees like mangoes that are proving particularly effective in trapping pollution particles. The lesson here is to dare, to dare to change, to dare to try. We have made mistakes in this process. Some plants don't work well together, others have died, but we keep experimenting and learning every day which species is better and which brings more benefits, and that's how you can make change happen. Though still a work in progress, Medellin's green corridors offer a low-cost, replicable model for more sustainable cities, one tree at a time. Alessandro Rampietti, Algecira Medellin.

The contest, whose 70th edition is scheduled for Vienna in May, pits acts from dozens of nations against one another for the continent's musical crown.

Vienna

Four countries to boycott 2026 Eurovision after Israel can take part

Honduran presidential candidate Salvador Nasralla said U.S. President Donald Trump’s last-minute support for rival Nasry Asfura hurt his chances in the country’s closely fought election.

Tegucigalpa

Honduras' Nasralla: Trump's influence damaged my election chances

The ceremony took place even as there were reports of clashes between the Congolese army and Rwanda-backed M23 rebels.

Washington

Trump praises leaders of Rwanda and DR Congo as they sign a peace deal

A northern Virginia man was arrested and accused of placing two pipe bombs outside the Democratic National Committee and Republican National Committee headquarters on the eve of the Capitol riot on Jan. 6, 2021. Scott MacFarlane has details.

FBI arrests suspect in 2021 D.C. pipe bomb case

A grand jury has rejected the Department of Justice's attempt to re-indict New York Attorney General Letitia James. CBS News legal contributor Jessica Levinson has reaction.

Grand jury rejects DOJ's attempt to re-indict Letitia James

The New York Times has sued the U.S. Defence Department and Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth in an effort to force the Pentagon to abandon its restrictive new press policy. The Times alleges that the policy, rejected by at least 30 news organizations, violates its rights to free speech and due process.

New York

New York Times sues Pentagon, Hegseth over press restrictions

President Trump weighed in on Russian President Vladimir Putin's meeting with his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner. CBS News' Ramy Inocencio has more.

Moscow

Ukraine Invasion

Trump insists Putin wants to end Ukraine war after Witkoff's trip

Democrats have released never-before-seen images in the Jeffrey Epstein case. They were taken at his private island estate. It comes as the Trump administration faces a deadline to release the full Epstein case files in two weeks.

Newly released images and videos show Epstein's private island estate

Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves, more than five times more than the United States.

Caracas

Maduro accuses U.S. of pushing for regime change to get Venezuela’s oil

Australia starts enforcing a landmark ban requiring social media platforms to take down accounts belonging to under-16s

Canberra

Australia under-16s social media accounts to be taken down

European Union lawmakers and member states reached a deal to ban all imports of Russian gas before the end of 2027, as the bloc seeks to choke off key funds feeding Moscow's war chest. Aimed at breaking a reliance the bloc has struggled to end despite the invasion of Ukraine, the accord marks a compromise between EU capitals and the European Parliament, which wanted the ban to hit sooner.

Brussels

EU agrees deal to ban Russian gas by end of 2027

President Trump pardoned Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar of Texas and his wife on Wednesday. The couple was indicted in 2024 on more than a dozen federal charges. Cuellar has denied any wrongdoing.

Trump pardons Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar and his wife

Sources say the Pentagon watchdog found Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth could have endangered American service members when he shared military information in a Signal group chat in March. Alex Plitsas, a former Pentagon official, joins "The Daily Report" to discuss.

Watchdog found Hegseth jeopardized sensitive military information

Democrats on the House Oversight Committee Wednesday released never-before-seen images of the private island owned by convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. CBS News legal reporter Katrina Kaufman has more details.

Never-before-seen images of Jeffrey Epstein's island released

The doctor who pleaded guilty to selling ketamine to Matthew Perry in the weeks before the actor's overdose death has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Los Angeles

Doctor who sold Matthew Perry ketamine sentenced to 30 months in prison

Google subsidiary YouTube has criticized an Australian law banning social media accounts for under-16s, arguing the legislation set to start Dec 10 makes young users of Instagram, Facebook, TikTok and YouTube less safe.

YouTube attacks Australia's underage social media ban

U.S. envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff met Putin in the Kremlin on a revised Ukraine peace plan but left without a deal. Russia insists on territorial gains, army cuts, and blocking NATO membership, while Zelenskyy calls for long-term deterrence against future aggression.

U.S. envoys Kushner, Witkoff leave Kremlin without Ukraine deal

U.S. President Donald Trump, in a televised cabinet meeting, said “I don't want them in our country” about Somali immigrants, sparking outrage from politicians and migration experts. His remarks coincided with reports of planned federal raids targeting Minneapolis’ Somali community.

Trump targets Somali immigrants amid reports of Minneapolis raids

A Russian tanker carrying sunflower oil was hit by a drone off the Turkish coast, with no casualties. The attack is part of recent strikes on Russian-flagged vessels targeting Moscow’s oil sector, while Putin warns of possible retaliatory measures.

Russian tanker attacked off Turkey, Putin warns of retaliation

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said he had watched the first U.S. strike in September on an alleged drug-smuggling vessel in real time, but did not see survivors in the water or the second lethal strike that he described as being carried out in the "fog of war."

Hegseth says he didn't see survivors before second strike on boat

Republican comfortably beats Democratic challenger after polls showed candidates in a close race in US state.

Tennessee

Trump’s pick Van Epps wins special election in deep-red Tennessee

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened to expand his crackdown on drug trafficking during a cabinet meeting, suggesting he’d order land strikes on Venezuela and attacks on any country transporting illegal drugs into the U.S.

Trump threatens to expand strikes beyond Venezuela

Ahead of a meeting to discuss the U.S. proposal for peace in Ukraine, Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed European counter-proposals as 'unacceptable' and said his country was ready for war if Europe wants one.

Putin says Russia is 'ready' if Europe wants war

OpenAI has declared a "code red" as Google threatens to unseat the AI industry's early leader, according to the Wall Street Journal. Technology journalist Jacob Ward joins CBS News to discuss.

California

OpenAI declares 'code red' as Google threatens its AI lead

Russian President Vladimir Putin met U.S. President Donald Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in the Kremlin on Tuesday (December 2) for talks on a possible way to end the deadliest European conflict since World War Two.

Putin meets Trump envoys Witkoff, Kushner for Ukraine peace talks

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth said during a Cabinet meeting on Tuesday that the deadly boat strikes in the region near Venezuela and Colombia have "only just begun." This comes as Republicans and Democrats in Congress question the legality of the military action.

Hegseth defends boat strikes near Venezuela during Cabinet meeting

President Vladimir Putin has hailed what his commanders told him was the full Russian capture of the city of Pokrovsk in eastern Ukraine as an important victory after a prolonged campaign, saying it would help Moscow fulfil its wider war aims.

Pokrovsk

Russia claims control of Pokrovsk

Major rescue and recovery efforts are underway across Southeast Asia after a series of severe storms battered the region displacing millions and killing more than 1,100 people.

Nuwara Eliya

Severe storms batter Southeast Asia, displacing millions

Honduras’ presidential race is too close to call, with Nasry Asfura and Salvador Nasralla nearly tied at just under 40% each as technical glitches delay official results.

Asfura, Nasralla in tight battle for Honduras presidency

Airbus must inspect hundreds of its A320 jets for potential quality flaws in the plane's body as a total of 628 aircraft contain panels that may be too thick or too thin due to a manufacturing issue at a supplier.

See The Full Story

Climate Crisis