Indiana
Climate change is here. This is how it is affecting Indiana and what’s to come
How climate change will impact Indiana
Climate change is here in Indiana and its effects are growing stronger, Purdue researchers say. We can expect more flooding in spring and drought conditions in summer, among other changes.
Dwight Adams, Indianapolis Star
Indiana may seem isolated from the effects of a changing climate, but increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation are already affecting Hoosiers.
The impact as greenhouse gas emissions continue to warm the planet will touch everything from native wildlife and plant hardiness zones to poison ivy and potholes.
Researchers have been studying the effects of human-caused climate change, and while many reports point to dire consequences, many groups are working toward solutions to help avoid the worst scenarios.
Here’s what Indiana is facing under climate change:
Increasing temperatures
The Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment, put together at Purdue University, says the statewide annual average temperature has been increasing since 1895 and will see “significantly more warming by century’s end.”
Much of that increase, according to Purdue, has occurred since the 1960s, leading to spring arriving much earlier than a century ago. This warming trend has sped up in recent decades, and even small changes lead to serious local impacts.
The warming will increase the number of extreme heat stress days, putting Hoosier health at risk. IU’s ERI projects southern Indiana will face 38-51 days at or exceeding 95 degrees each year by 2050. This is an increase from the seven days of extreme temperatures the region historically experienced.
This warming trend also contributes to the phenomenon Gabe Filippelli, executive director of IU’s Environmental Resilience Institute, called Loss of Winter.
“A lot of our natural ecosystems are designed to have a nice hard winter,” Filippelli said. “A nice hard winter kills back insects. A nice hard winter sets certain fish species up for success. And a nice hard winter also ensures that some of our flowering and seeding plants emerge at the time that they’ve always have. So, we’re losing that.”
The changes in temperature and precipitation can also add to stress on Indiana’s key agricultural products like corn, soybeans and wheat, leading to a reduction in crop yields.
Recently: Indiana State University professor and colleagues say climate warming faster than expected
Changing precipitation patterns
As temperatures rise, rainfall increases throughout the state. Purdue’s study says Indiana has seen a 15% annual increase in precipitation since 1895, which is about an extra 5.6 inches each year.
While the rainfall accumulation will not fall evenly across the state, it’s expected to increase the risk of flooding. This flooding could be exacerbated by the state’s historic loss of wetlands, which have recently lost even more protections after Gov. Eric Holcomb signed Alan Morrison’s (R-Terre Haute) HB1383 into law.
“Rainfall is not coming at the same time, it’s coming as big flooding events more often than not,” Filippelli said. “So that’s causing real challenges in communities as they’re getting flooded more and more frequently.”
Those floods not only affect roadways and basements. Filippelli said in a lot of communities heavy rains push a lot of raw sewage into local waterways, which has its own impacts.
Threats to water quality
Indiana was listed as the state with the dirtiest waterways in a 2022 report, and climate change could add more stress on the vital resource.
Fallow farmland in the winter will experience increased rainfall, potential washing fertilizer and sediment off fields and degrade waters downstream, Purdue’s study says. As temperatures rise, Indiana’s waters will also warm. This warmer water will allow more harmful bacteria to grow enhancing health threats.
There is hope: Hoosiers working toward solutions
As consequences of climate change to Indiana’s environment, human health and the economy stack up, Filippelli said it would have been great to act 40 or even 20 years ago, but “the next best time to act is now.”
“One positive aspect of the science that has come out is that we know that once we achieve net-zero (meaning we are not producing more carbon dioxide than is being removed), that our temperature stabilizes immediately,” Filippelli said.
While the problem is global, there are things we can do locally.
There are tree planting programs with Keep Indianapolis Beautiful and other organizations that help make communities more resilient, large-scale painting of industrial roofs to white, and providing better education.
“There’s a lot that people can do to help us be more resilient, but a lot of it has to come from their voice,” Filippelli said. “They need to be aware there’s concern and they need to be hopeful: ‘Hey, it’s a concern, but it’s not an impossible daunting challenge. I can make local changes to make up my local environment better.’”
Karl Schneider is an IndyStar environment reporter. You can reach him at karl.schneider@indystar.com. Follow him on Twitter @karlstartswithk
IndyStar’s environmental reporting project is made possible through the generous support of the nonprofit Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust.
MARTINSVILLE, Ind. (WISH) — June 19 is a celebration of the day in 1865 when enslaved people in Texas learned they were free.
As communities across Indiana mark the holiday, the Juneteenth event in Martinsville drew a lot of attention on Friday evening.
Event organizer Jeannine Lee Ferrer said, “This is American history. It’s all of our history, and I think we should all celebrate it, because I think most of the people are happy that it finally ended.”
Sampson Levingston, a local tour guide and Indiana history buff, says Martinsville is historically known as a sundown town, a place where Black people were warned not to remain after dark for fear of their safety. In 1968, a Black woman named Carol Jenkins was killed by two men while selling encyclopedias door to door. One of her killers was never found.
Levingston said, “She got murdered with a hate crime by a white guy and so there are some things that sting. I’ve seen with my own eyes: KKK signs in Martinsville, Indiana.”
Ku Klux Klan, or KKK, is a white supremacist and right-wing extremist hate group in the United States.
Martinsville’s history was one of the reasons why the event generated a lot of conversation within the community. As Levingston sees it, the event was a positive move. “Why not? Wherever you live, wherever you are, figure out how you can get involved with Juneteenth. We’ve got beautiful cities with beautiful history, and I think it’s time we all lean into that and acknowledge that so we can learn and grow with it,” he said.
In a statement, Republican Martinsville Mayor Kenny Costin says the city has undergone a positive transformation.
“The progress is real, and it is ongoing. We remain committed to this work, so Martinsville becomes not only a place where people are proud to live, but a place where they are proud to belong.”
Ferrer said she’s lived in Martinsville since 2021 and has not experienced anything racist in the city. However, she said she was upset when the event was first announced, and people made racist comments to her online. “I’m not being naive to what has gone on in the past, but I think Martinsville has moved to a different chapter, and we’re ready as citizens of Morgan County and Martinsville, Indiana, to turn a page, and I look forward to today being a part of that.”
Ferrer said dozens of people have reached out to her, offering their support and wanting to learn more about the holiday. “Those really are truly the people that are touching my heart and are making me think that this was a good thing to do, and to reach out and let people know that we are more alike than we are different.”
She hopes to host another Juneteenth event in Martinsville in 2026.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A Hamilton County teen on Friday said he’s excited for his first convention as a voting delegate.
Jackson Massillamany, who just turned 18 and graduated from high school in May, is no stranger to politics. His father, Mario, is the chair of the Hamilton County Republican Party and his mother, Amy, serves on the Hamilton County Council.
Jackson said he signed up to be a delegate at this weekend’s Indiana Republican Party convention in Fort Wayne after Mario asked if he was interested.
“It’s kinda cool to see how this is done and what my dad actually does,” he said. “At first, I wasn’t really excited for it, but I’m here now and I’m having a blast.”
Mario Massillamany, who is a contributor to “All INdiana Politics,” said Jackson is the youngest delegate at the convention. He said he has been taking Jackson along to party functions ever since he was an infant.
“It’s a great opportunity for him to get more active and involved in politics, and I think we need to try and get the younger generations involved in our political process,” he said. “I think this is a great opportunity for him to come here, have a good experience and then go back and talk to his friends about why it’s important to get involved.”
Jackson will be one of 1,800 delegates tasked with picking a nominee for secretary of state. It’s a closely watched race. Current Secretary of State Diego Morales, who is seeking a second term, has faced numerous controversies since he took office. Knox County Clerk David Shelton and conservative activist and 2024 gubernatorial candidate Jamie Reitenour have been running against Morales for months. Last month, Max Engling, a staffer for Sen. Jim Banks and a 2024 congressional candidate, joined the race at the last minute with Banks’ backing.
The Republican winner in November will have to face Bayh family scion Beau Bayh, a Democrat, along with Libertarian Lauri Shillings and, potentially, former Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard, who is running as an independent under the Lincoln Party label.
Mario said he’s telling Jackson to keep his eyes and ears open and to meet with all of the weekend’s candidates.
Both Massillamanys said the key to getting young people to vote and to get politically involved is to, first, encourage them to register to vote and, second, to elevate more young people who are in politics.
“I feel like many people are scared to be involved in politics because nobody else younger does it,” Jackson said. “So, like, me and other people my age, being able to reach out to others to try and get involved, I feel like, is the best way for people my age to get involved.”
Delegates to the 2026 Indiana Republican Party convention will make their selections on Saturday. Besides secretary of state candidates, they will choose nominees for state treasurer and state comptroller. The current occupants of those offices, Daniel Elliott and Elise Nieshalla, respectively, are running for second terms and are unopposed.
Government reporter Garrett Bergquist will be in Fort Wayne on Saturday and will have a full report on the results of the convention at 6, 10 and 11 p.m. on WISH-TV.
INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) — A man is dead after a shooting Thursday night on Indy’s near east side, police say.
According to the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, just after 8 p.m., officers were called to the 2000 block of East Washington Street on a report of a person shot.
When officers arrived, they found an adult male inside an apartment with injuries consistent with gunshot wounds.
Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services transported the man to a hospital in critical condition, where died shortly after arriving.
Homicide detectives responded to the scene to begin the investigation.
Crime Resources
-
New Mexico35 seconds agoAPD: Pedestrian hit and killed in early morning crash
-
North Carolina3 minutes agoNorth Carolina’s 5 Most Efficient Scorers Next Season
-
North Dakota8 minutes agoFor North Dakota producers, ‘death by a thousand paper cuts’
-
Ohio16 minutes agoRestrictions on social media use among children restored in Ohio
-
Oklahoma19 minutes agoScouting the Oklahoma Sooners ahead of UNC matchup
-
Oregon24 minutes agoOregon county prioritizes housing for ‘LGBTQIA2S+’ and BIPOC residents | Fox News Video
-
Pennsylvania31 minutes ago7 Off-The-Grid Pennsylvania Towns To Visit In 2026
-
Rhode Island34 minutes agoR.I. Democratic Committee issues no endorsement for governor or lieutenant governor – The Boston Globe
