‘UnPHILtered’: Indiana program in Richmond, Clarksville looks to combat overheating

RICHMOND, Ind. (WISH) — The heat is on in Indiana as record-breaking temperatures blanket the Hoosier state.

Cooling centers have been opened statewide as ways for Hoosiers to cool down, including 10 in Indianapolis set up by IndyParks.

But two Indiana cities are looking at ways to combat overheating by creating long-term, sustainable projects in their areas. It’s being done through a program called Beat the Heat, and it’s funded by Indiana University’s Environmental Resilience Institute and the Indiana Office of Rural Affairs.

The program is up and running in Richmond and Clarksville with researchers asking residents for the ways they cope with the heat and mapping out different temperature changes.

On Wednesday night’s “UnPHILtered,” the heat relief coordinator for the city of Richmond joined News 8’s Phil Sanchez to explain more about the program that is more than a year into its first phase.

“The beginning of the program is really focused on community engagement and community assessment,” Lucy Mellen said. “This involves a hyperlocal temperature campaign that shows us the temperature of the day and how they’re shifting and changing due to the urban heat island effect, which is the effect showing urban areas having higher temperatures than their rural or natural landscape counterparts.”