May 17, 2022

World Health Organization publishes study on climate change in Indy

The World Health Organization chose Indianapolis as one of six pilot cities for the study on how climate change affects public health. - FILE: Doug Jaggers/WFYI

The World Health Organization chose Indianapolis as one of six pilot cities for the study on how climate change affects public health.

FILE: Doug Jaggers/WFYI

A partnership between the City of Indianapolis Office of Sustainability, the Marion County Public Health Department and the World Health Organization has produced a study on climate change.

WHO chose Indianapolis as one of six pilot cities for the study on how climate change affects public health. Director of the Office of Sustainability for the City of Indianapolis Morgan Mickelson  says a 2019 study of Indianapolis done by their office played a role in Indianapolis as a choice.

“The World Health Organization told us that they were really impressed with the Thrive Indianapolis Plan; that's our sustainability and resilience plan, and the work being done to implement those action items outlined in the plan.”

Information about the impact of the urban heat island effect is also in the report.

“This report actually calls out that air temperatures can actually be 15 degrees higher than the mean temperatures in areas that have more surface paved or less trees, which is really stark and can make an incredible difference for you know, your quality of life,” says Mickelson.

The study titled “Health and Climate Change Urban Profile” is available for public viewing on the indy.gov website. The site has a link to the World Health Organization website where the publication is posted.

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