Romania’s five largest cities have less tree cover than the European median, according to an analysis by the Social Monitor (Monitorul Social), a Friedrich Ebert Foundation project. The lack of vegetation, combined with traffic and extensive paved areas, increases their exposure to extreme summer heat.
Bucharest has tree canopy coverage of 21.9%, less than half Berlin’s 43.8%. The Romanian capital also ranks below Warsaw at 39.7%, Madrid at 39.4%, Brussels at 36.9%, Sofia at 36.8%, and Stockholm at 33.9%.
Among the other Romanian cities analyzed, Cluj-Napoca has 25.7% tree cover, followed by Iași at 23.7%, Timișoara at 22%, and Constanța at 12.7%.
The Romanian seaside city of Constanța thus ranked 651st among the 732 European cities included in the European Environment Agency data, as cited in the analysis. All five Romanian cities were below the European median of 28.3%.
The issue extends beyond the country’s main urban centers, the same source said, as 26 of the 35 Romanian cities included in the analysis had tree coverage below the European median.
“The difference cannot be explained solely by the level of development,” the Social Monitor said, pointing to the higher shares recorded in Sofia and Warsaw.
At the same time, the Bucharest-Ilfov region had 671 passenger cars per 1,000 residents in 2024, according to Eurostat data cited in the analysis.
The rate was twice that recorded in Berlin, at 334 cars per 1,000 inhabitants, and significantly higher than in Brussels at 389, Stockholm at 398, and Budapest at 429. Only the Warsaw region, with 685 cars, ranked higher among the areas compared.
The figures for Bucharest-Ilfov also included vehicles owned by companies and leasing firms registered in the capital.
The Social Monitor said the effects were most apparent during heat waves, as trees reduce air temperatures through shade and evapotranspiration. Cities with limited vegetation and large areas covered by roads, parking lots, and other paved surfaces tend to heat up more.
Older people, children, outdoor workers, and residents of poorly insulated homes without air conditioning face the greatest impact, the analysis noted.
“For Romanian cities, planting and protecting trees, together with better public transport, is no longer an aesthetic matter but a measure for adapting to heat and protecting public health,” the analysis said.
The EU Biodiversity Strategy calls on cities with more than 20,000 inhabitants to adopt urban greening plans.
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