Note! It's windy again in Shanghai! At 10:18 on May 15, the Shanghai Meteorological Center issued a blue warning signal for high winds. Affected by the cold air, it is expected that there will be northerly winds with gusts of 7~8 in the city before the first half of the night on May 15, and gusts of up to 8~9 in the Yangtze River Estuary area. Fortunately, on the night of May 15, the wind will weaken and turn westerly 3~4. In addition to the strong winds, what made citizens even more troublesome on May 15 was that the "drizzle" also made a comeback. Walking on the road, the sky is full of flying flotsam, so that pedestrians can hardly open their eyes, so they can only lower their heads and speed up their pace.
According to the relevant staff of the district green rong department, the current source of flying floc in the inner ring road is mainly plane trees. Plane tree (commonly known as plane tree) is one of the main street trees in Shanghai, accounting for 70% of the total number of street trees in the central urban area. In April and May each year, the fruit of the plane tree ripens and dehisces, releasing hairs that resemble yellow "small parachutes". These hairs are scattered by the wind, especially in windy weather, which is more likely to form a scene of fruit hairs flying, which has an impact on the respiratory health and daily life of citizens.
Data map
This year, Shanghai announced for the first time 176 hairy road sections, of which 43 are in Xuhui. In order to effectively prevent and control fruit hair, the Xuhui greening and sanitation department took timely action. First of all, the greening department prunes the fruit bulbs in winter through the "manual + mechanical" method, and more than 90% of the fruit balls can be removed through pruning, thereby reducing the production of fruit hair flying. But some of the tall plane trees in the city centre are beyond the reach of mechanical climbing and cannot be pruned to control the fruit. Therefore, the relay work of the sanitation department has increased the frequency of cleaning, from the original 4 times a day to 6 times a day, followed by a combination of "cleaning and suction", and finally sprinkling, through a series of ways, effectively reducing the time of fruit hair flying on the road surface. It is understood that this year's "blowing and purging" governance has been implemented from the end of April to implement a round, in view of the recent high incidence of flocculents, in mid to early May, the green department added a night "blowing and sweeping", to try to eliminate the impact of flying flotsam on the public.
Data map
This year, due to the impact of temperature and rainfall in April, the flocculation period was delayed by about 10 days compared to previous years, but it is also nearing the end. The older the street trees in the central urban area, the more fruiting they are, which is also a normal physiological phenomenon of tree reproduction. The fruit hair itself is not poisonous, but for people with sensitive constitutions, it will bring respiratory discomfort, so it is recommended that the public go out to do a good job of personal protection. When you go out, you can wear long sleeves, wear masks, and sensitive people can wear protective glasses, which can basically avoid the impact of fruit and hair flying. If the fruit hair fly accidentally gets into the eyes or touches the skin and causes itching, remember to "do not panic, do not rub, do not scratch", immediately rinse with clean cool water or gently wipe with wet paper, or use a wet towel to apply a cold compress.
In the process of new construction and renovation of roads, the district green department is also giving priority to the selection of tree species that do not produce flying flotsam, such as horse chestnut, catalpa, triangular maple and black tree. These tree species not only do not have the trouble of fruit hair, but also further enrich the flower and leaf landscape of road greening, and improve the aesthetics and ecological benefits of the city.
Reporter: Yao Limin, Xiao Lexin
Some of the photos are provided by the District Green Rong Bureau
Editor: Chen Haixiao
Reviewer: Wei Li