City of Bloomington, IN | Climate Action Dashboard
© 2025
One of the major climate risks outlined in Bloomington’s 2020 Climate Risk and Vulnerability Assessment is extreme heat. Extreme heat can cause a number of problems like heat-related illness, increased strain on energy infrastructure due to rising demand for air conditioning, and disruption of the local ecosystem.
To plan for and respond to the challenge of extreme heat, the City’s Sustainability office has coordinated a number of initiatives with many more planned. For example, City staff have facilitated a task force on extreme heat, are planning community awareness events around the issue, and are also funding shade and tree canopy efforts throughout the community.
One major related initiative is Stay Cool Bloomington, launched in the summer of 2024. This comprehensive program aims to promote community resilience to heat and ensure the well-being of our residents during hot weather. The program included a HeatWatch campaign resulting in an urban heat map, as well as the establishment of an ongoing Air Conditioner Distribution Program for low-income residents. More information on Stay Cool Bloomington can be found here.
Goal G 4. Reduce stormwater and micro heat island impacts.
Goal HS 3. Respond to climate risks and impacts.
Metrics
Number of free admissions to City pools provided through the Stay Cool Bloomington initiative
As of 1/1/2025
Total funding for Cool Corridors to date
As of 1/1/2025
Adaptation & Resilience
Adapting communities to deal with higher heat levels promotes general climate resilience, allowing people, infrastructure, and nature to withstand temperature extremes. Preventing the damages of escalating heat waves also preserves more resources to cope with future climate challenges.
Preventative Public Health
The City has initiatives to increase public resilience to extreme heat, including community mapping to identify vulnerable areas, improved bus stops with shade and cooling, and public workshops on heat safety awareness. Expanding these types of preparedness measures cost-effectively boosts public health protection against warming temperatures and empowers residents to assist neighbors most at risk.
| Action | ||
|---|---|---|
 | Plan for and mitigate local flood risk | |
 | Increase housing security for Bloomington residents | |
 | Address the climate risk of extreme heat | |
 | Plan and address climate risks and vulnerabilities |
