Recent wildfires and heatwaves across Europe have served as a stark reminder that the climate crisis is here and we must adapt. Cities are increasingly exposed to a growing range of climate hazards, from prolonged droughts and extreme heat to wildfires and intense rainfall.
For many municipalities, the challenge is not only recognising these risks, but also deciding where to act first. Which areas need more nature-based solutions? Where should investments in water retention be prioritised? And how can local authorities measure whether their actions are making a difference over time?
The COOLCITY project* supports local governments in evidence-based decision-making and helps to identify priorities for local action. Their new COOLCITY Index offers a practical, Earth Observation-data-based viewpoint. Developed within the project, it provides free, comparable climate adaptation data for more than 11,000 cities across the European Union. The Index helps identify key areas for the sustainable urban development of blue-green infrastructure within a city.
What is the COOLCITY Index?
The COOLCITY Index is a free online platform that evaluates the climate adaptation potential of more than 11,000 cities in the 27 EU Member States. The Index combines satellite observations with machine learning to assess five key elements of the urban environment: surface permeability, vegetation state, biodiversity, water conditions, and thermal conditions.
These components are in continuous interaction, mutually enhancing or limiting the city's resilience. Together, they create a synthetic overview of whether the urban environment supports nature-based adaptation.
Each city receives an overall score on a scale from 0 to 10. This allows municipalities to compare their environmental performance using a consistent methodology, identify areas with the greatest adaptation potential and the most pressing environmental deficits, as well as to seek inspiration and partners facing similar challenges for future initiatives. Updated annually, the Index also provides a basis for monitoring long-term progress.
Figure 1. COOLCITY Index.eu – a free online platform providing access to urban climate and environmental data for more than 11,000 cities across the European Union.
From diagnosis to action
The COOLCITY Index is the first stage of the COOLCITY project development.
The next step - COOLCITY View enables a detailed spatial assessment of a specific city's adaptation at the general level for strategic planning and spatial management, while COOLCITY Design stands out as the most advanced COOLCITY product, offering the highest level of data precision. It also serves as an environmental decision-support system that helps select and plan specific nature-based solutions.
Figure 2. COOLCITY Design – an advanced Environmental Decision Support System (EDSS) based on airborne and satellite remote sensing data.
COOLCITY tools will provide more detailed spatial analyses and decision-support capabilities, including mapping of local environmental conditions, planning support for nature-based solutions, urban tree management and long-term monitoring of blue-green infrastructure. These tools are being tested with partner cities and will support municipalities in moving from diagnosis towards implementation and evaluation of climate adaptation measures.
Join the COOLCITY Team
Cities interested in contributing to the development of these solutions are invited to join the COOLCITY Consultation Team. The consulting group brings together municipalities from across Europe to help shape and test COOLCITY tools by sharing practical experience, testing new functionalities and providing feedback on local needs.
Participating cities will receive:
- free COOLCITY View platform and report for the city,
- opportunities to benchmark climate resilience with other European municipalities,
- participation in knowledge exchange and good practice discussions with fellow cities.
In return, members are asked to take part in one or two online consulting sessions per quarter and provide feedback on the project's tools and proposed solutions.
Applications to join the COOLCITY Consultation Team are open until 17 August 2026.
Interested cities are kindly asked to complete the survey or contact us via e-mail: mjurzyk@mggpaero.com
Figure 3. Join the COOLCITY Team – a call to collaborate and contribute to the development of innovative solutions for climate-resilient cities.
Explore your city's results
Cities can already explore their COOLCITY Index score free of charge and compare their results with thousands of municipalities across Europe here.
COOLCITY Index offers an additional source of evidence for supporting the climate adaptation planning, while participation in the Consulting COOLCITY Team provides an opportunity to help shape tools designed to respond to the practical needs of European local authorities.
Resilient cities do not emerge by chance, they are created through informed decisions, cooperation, and the use of the best available knowledge. COOLCITY aims to help local authorities, experts, and residents better understand their surroundings and collaboratively design cities that are safer, healthier, and more welcoming.
* The COOLCITY project is co-financed by the European Union under the LIFE Programme and by the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
Details
- Publication date
- 29 July 2026