Anger Erupts in Zagreb Over Tree Pruning During Extreme Heat

“It is hard to be a tree in Zagreb,” Ekovjesnik wrote as it questioned the city’s decision to prune trees during days of extreme heat.

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It is hard to be a tree in Zagreb.

The environmental publication said planned pruning of healthy trees was difficult to justify when temperatures exceeded 30°C. It argued that the trees were already exposed to heat and possible water stress, making the timing of the work especially questionable.

Ekovjesnik distinguished between urgent work and routine maintenance. Removing dry, broken or immediately dangerous branches can be justified regardless of the season or temperature, it said. But the amount of cut material visible on the ground suggested that some trees had undergone more extensive work than simple crown shaping.

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If this is regular, planned pruning of healthy trees, it is difficult to justify why this work is being carried out precisely on a very hot day, with temperatures above 30°C, when the trees are already exposed to heat and possible water stress.

“This is not just about ‘shaping the crown,’” the publication said. It added that weather conditions become even more important when larger interventions are carried out, then sarcastically described the work as perhaps a Zagreb “green” measure that nobody in the civilized world had yet heard of.

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This is not just about “shaping the crown.”

Zagreb residents echoed the criticism in comments. Some called the treatment of the city’s greenery a disgrace, while others said the work looked like retaliation or deliberate mistreatment. Another commenter warned that damaging healthy trees could create an even larger urban heat island.

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Shameful! They are destroying the city’s greenery, which they should actually be caring for?!