Background: Evidence on the effects of residential green spaces on asthma is contradictory. We investigated potential association between the amount of greenness in the residential area during pregnancy and early life and development of asthma in the first 27 years of life. Methods: The study population included all 2568 members of the Espoo Cohort Study, Finland. We calculated individual-level exposure to green space measured as cumulative Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (cumNDVI in unit-months) within 300 m of the participant’s residence during pregnancy and the first two years of life in both spring and summer seasons. The onset of asthma was assessed using information from the baseline and follow-up surveys. Results: Exposure to residential greenness in the spring season during pregnancy was associated with an increased risk of asthma up to 6 years of age, with an adjusted hazard ratio (aHR) of 3.72 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.11-12.47) per a unit increase in cumNDVI. Increased greenness in the summer during pregnancy associated with asthma with an aHR of 1.41 (95% CI 0.85-2.32) up to 6 years. The effect was found to be related to increased greenness particularly during the third trimester of pregnancy, with an aHR of 2.37 (95% CI 1.36-4.14) per unit increase of cumNDVI. These associations were weaker at the ages of 12 and 27 years. No association was found between NDVI in the first two years of life and the development of asthma. Discussion: Our findings provide evidence that exposure to greenness during pregnancy increases the risk of developing asthma.

Periglacial environments are characterized by highly dynamic landscapes. Freezing and thawing lead to ground movement, associated with cryoturbation and solifluction. These processes are sensitive to climate change and variably distributed depending on multiple environmental factors. In this study, we used multi-geometry Sentinel-1 Synthetic Aperture Radar Interferometry (InSAR) to investigate the spatial distribution of the mean annual ground velocity in a mountainous landscape in Northern Norway. Statistical modelling was employed to examine how periglacial ground velocity is related to environmental variables characterizing the diverse climatic, geomorphic, hydrological and ecological conditions within a 148 km2 study area. Two-dimensional (2D) InSAR results document mean annual ground velocity up to 15 mm/yr. Vertical and horizontal velocity components in the East–West plane show variable spatial distribution, which can be explained by the characteristics of cryoturbation and solifluction operating differently over flat and sloping terrain. Statistical modelling shows that slope angle and mean annual air temperature variables are the most important environmental factors explaining the distribution of the horizontal and vertical components, respectively. Vegetation and snow cover also have a local influence, interpreted as indicators of the ground material and moisture conditions. The results show contrasted model performance depending on the velocity component used as a response variable. In general, our study highlights the potential of integrating radar remote sensing and statistical modelling to investigate mountainous regions and better understand the relations between environmental factors, periglacial processes and ground dynamics.