Heat sensors being installed around Bloomington

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WISH) — Thirty heat sensors have been installed on Indiana University’s campus and around the city of Bloomington.

It’s part of a collaboration between the IU Luddy School of Informatics , the City of Bloomington , and the Healthy City Lab .

IU Environmental Science student Nick Polak said the sensors take the air temperature every five minutes, and that data is stored in the cloud.

“People are exposed to heat in varying intensities all over town depending on where they live and where they work,” Polak said. “Making sure we get the spatial coverage in different neighborhoods in different parts of town is increasingly important to understand what people are truly experiencing.”

Bloomington officials can use the information to help advise where more trees could make a difference. Athletic teams can also use the data to can avoid practicing during the hottest times of the day.

Luddy School Professor Dana Habeeb said the data could encourage the city to reconsider what future development would look like.

“Our most extreme heat wave last year at the end of August, we had sensors on IU’s campus, and we showed there was more than a 12 – 13 degree difference between Dunn Woods on Indiana University’s campus and a parking lot nearby,” Habeeb said.

Studies have show that buildings, roads, and sidewalks radiate heat 20 degrees above normal city temperatures.

According to the International Institute for Environment and Development , Indianapolis ranks 38th out of the 50 largest U.S. cities that have seen their average temperatures increase over the past 40 years.

“We’re seeing that heat waves are increasing with regards to their frequency, their duration,” Habeeb said. “Their intensity as well as their seasonality. We’re seeing that heat waves are starting earlier in the season as well as lasting longer.”

The heat sensors will remain up in Bloomington for the rest of this summer and next summer.