Beat the Heat

Helping Hoosier communities adapt to extreme heat

As average temperatures rise across Indiana, local governments face growing challenges related to heat-related illness, emergency response, and community resilience.

Beat the Heat is a statewide capacity-building program that supports Hoosier communities in preparing for, responding to, and reducing the health risks associated with extreme heat. The program equips communities with the tools, data, and expertise needed to safeguard residents and strengthen long-term resilience.

Developed in partnership with ERI, the IU Healthy Cities Lab, and the Indiana Office of Community and Rural Affairs, Beat the Heat provides participating communities with tailored heat-mapping data, planning support, and guidance in designing evidence-based heat resilience strategies.

Two communities to plan for heat emergencies through Beat the Heat in 2026

The City of Frankfort and Town of Nashville have been selected to participate in the second round of Beat the Heat beginning in 2026.

Each community will receive tailored strategies, expert resources, and a collaborative framework to strengthen community resilience to extreme heat.

A McKinney Climate Fellow is directly supporting each community to lead workshops, conduct surveys, analyze data, map local temperatures, and drive heat resilience projects forward.

ERI and IU Healthy Cities Lab are supporting:

webinars to build heat safety knowledge of the selected communities
development of heat-specific products like a heat index, heat maps, and urban heat and policy reviews
identification and design of at least one heat resilience project
grant writing to fund heat resilience projects

Read the announcement

Beat the Heat Pilot Program

2021-23

Clarksville and Richmond became the first Indiana communities to develop heat management plans and identify stratgies and actions to protect residents' health.

Bloomington extreme heat action plan

2024

IU Bloomington students and faculty worked with the city to develop an extreme heat action plan and to measure and monitor local temperatures.

Learn about the Heat Vulnerability Index (HVI)

Featured tool

The tailored mapping tool is providing Beat the Heat communities with accessible data to identify, target, and support at-risk populations.

Meeting the challenge posed by hotter summers

According to the Indiana Climate Impacts Assessment, the number of extreme heat events are projected to increase significantly throughout Indiana by 2050 due to climate change.

Developing short- and long-term solutions to protect residents from the health impacts of hot days and nights is necessary for communities throughout the state.

Environmental Resilience Institute