Faculty, students contribute to Bloomington extreme heat action plan

Nick Polak, a member of the IU Healthy Cities Lab research team, is placing sensors around Bloomington that will give community leaders insight into the range of conditions residents face on a hot summer day. Photo by Chris Meyer, Indiana UniversityDuring a summer in which cities across the U.S. are experiencing exceptionally high temperatures, Indiana University students and faculty are working with the City of Bloomington to develop an extreme heat action plan for the community.

The plan is being informed by collaborations spanning urban heat education, outreach, data collection and analysis. The results of these activities will help city leaders identify vulnerable neighborhoods, prioritize tree plantings and guide placement of cooling resources as they draft the plan.

Dana Habeeb is an assistant professor at the IU Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering. Photo by Chris Meyer, Indiana University“We’re seeing an increase in extreme heat events, across the Midwest and across the country,” said Dana Habeeb, an assistant professor at the Luddy School of Informatics, Computing and Engineering whose Healthy Cities Lab is collaborating with city staff. “There’s a lot of health risks that can come from extreme heat, so we’re starting to see cities and states that have traditionally focused on winter events think more about extreme summer events.”

Heat waves are the deadliest type of extreme weather event, killing more people each year than hurricanes, floods and tornadoes combined. The risks of extreme heat can be especially high in urban areas, where paved surfaces and minimal green space contribute to scorching ambient temperatures.

In Indiana and elsewhere, climate change is exacerbating the intensity and duration of heat waves. While daytime highs above 90 degrees Fahrenheit are not uncommon in the state, their occurrence is becoming more frequent and projected to nearly triple by mid-century. At the same time, nighttime temperatures in the Midwest are rising much faster than the historical average, a trend that can be especially hazardous for people without access to cooling.

“Not all community members are exposed to the same level of heat risk,” Habeeb said. “Exposure differences can come from where we live, our occupation and how we commute, among other factors. It’s important for communities to be able to measure those differences and use that information to guide their decision making.”

Bloomington resident Abby Henkel Roman installs a vehicle-mounted sensor to capture temperature data that will contribute to a high-resolution heat map of Bloomington. Photo courtesy of Abby Henkel RomanTo that end, Habeeb’s team is installing a heat sensor network to measure and monitor air temperature, relative humidity and dew point at more than 30 sites on campus and throughout Bloomington. With sensors installed in different urban environments, the network will provide insight into the range of conditions people face on a hot summer day.

The sensor network is complemented by the city’s participation in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Organization’s urban heat island mapping campaign program, a project co-led by Habeeb and Shawn Miya, assistant director of sustainability for the City of Bloomington Economic and Sustainable Development Department. On Aug. 4, volunteers gathered at Bloomington’s RCA Community Park, mounted temperature sensors to their vehicles and traveled pre-planned routes throughout the city in the morning, afternoon and evening to collect data related to temperature, humidity and air quality.

Anurag Bhat, a McKinney Climate Fellow with the City of Bloomington and graduate student pursuing a Master of Public Affairs at the O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs, helped coordinate the campaign under Miya’s supervision.

Anurag Bhat is a McKinney Climate Fellow with the City of Bloomington. Photo courtesy of Anurag Bhat“From this effort, the city gets a precise heat island map that identifies hotspots within the community that may pose higher risks to people during heat waves,” Bhat said. “The maps also make it easier to see how urban design and land use affect local temperatures.”

Beyond gathering data, Habeeb’s team and Bhat have been instrumental in engaging with the community on extreme heat. In the spring, the Healthy Cities Lab team helped design a community survey to better understand how heat waves impact Bloomington neighborhoods and residents. The survey, released in July, was informed by the IU Environmental Resilience Institute’s Beat the Heat program, a multi-year community heat action program led by Habeeb.

The team also led two workshops with community leaders on heat-vulnerable groups and heat management policies.

“The support and technical capacity provided by Dana and her team has been essential to moving this project forward,” Miya said. “We’re going to have a really comprehensive picture of what the city needs and where we should focus in terms of extreme heat.”