Press release from 6.05.2026
Premiere of COOLCITY Index 2026: over 11,000 cities under the climate magnifying glass, Piwniczna Zdrój in the lead
Are cities ready for heatwaves, droughts and heavy rains? The answers are provided by COOLCITY Index 2026 - a publicly available platform that, based on environmental analyses, shows how 11,041 European cities are coping with climate challenges. This is the first ranking of such scale, and this year Piwniczna-Zdrój took the lead.
Climate change is increasingly affecting the functioning of cities. Overheating centers, the urban heat island effect, and more frequent flooding are challenges that require specific decisions at the local level. In practice, however, they are often made based on incomplete or difficult-to-compare data. COOLCITY Index 2026 responds to this need and provides consistent, objective information on the state of blue-green infrastructure, which supports adaptation to climate change.
"We wanted to create a tool that not only shows data, but above all helps to understand and use it in practice. COOLCITY Index 2026 translates complex information into a simple signal: where we are and what we can improve"
How does COOLCITY Index 2026 work?
The basis of the platform is the synthetic COOLCITY Index (CCI), which combines five key adaptation challenges: land permeability, vegetation state, biodiversity, water conditions, and thermal conditions. Each city receives a score on a scale of 0 to 10, which allows for comparison, searching for cities with similar conditions, and finding inspiration for action. On the portal, it is possible to analyze not only the overall index, but also its components - e.g., thermal conditions or vegetation state separately. This allows for a better understanding of adaptation needs and identifying the most important areas for the development of blue-green infrastructure.
A huge knowledge base about cities and climate
COOLCITY Index 2026 covers over 11,000 cities and is one of the largest knowledge bases on climate adaptation in Europe. It will be updated annually, allowing for tracking changes over time. Differences resulting from local environmental conditions are already visible. Data indicates, among others, that cities in Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, often achieve values above the European average. Among the cities with high index values are both large centers and smaller towns.
The platform uses data from remote sensing systems, including Sentinel and Landsat satellites, and advanced analysis methods, including artificial intelligence. This makes it possible to regularly update data and maintain its comparability for thousands of cities simultaneously.
Piwniczna Zdrój - the most blue-green city
Piwniczna-Zdrój achieved the highest CCI score in the entire ranking of European Union cities. Located on the Poprad River, this small spa town can boast an excellent state of blue-green infrastructure. The mountain location and loose development preserve space for nature and provide a comfortable microclimate. Piwniczna-Zdrój has an excellent land permeability index - 10/10 - so-called "concretosis", which is a challenge for many EU cities, occupies only a small area here - only 8 out of 100 meters is built up or paved. The town also obtained excellent results for the vegetation state index - 9.6/10 - thanks to plenty of greenery in very good condition. It has the highest vegetation cover in the entire ranking of 11,000 cities, and most of it is in excellent condition. Residents can therefore enjoy close access to high-quality greenery - the share of greenery per inhabitant is over 2,000 m2 per person! This is a huge potential for building resilience to climate change thanks to the city's environmental resources.
"The result of Piwniczna-Zdrój clearly shows how much local natural conditions influence a city's resilience to climate change and how important it is to protect these resources"
Tools supporting city actions
The COOLCITY project is not only the COOLCITY Index platform, but also a whole set of tools based on CCI and supporting adaptation. COOLCITY View enables a spatially differentiated diagnosis of a city's adaptation to climate change, and COOLCITY Design is an advanced decision support system that allows for choosing and planning specific nature-based solutions. These tools were developed in cooperation with several cities, including the Wrocław City Hall, and are tailored to their practical needs.
About the project
The LIFE COOLCITY project ("Use of remote sensing for management of blue-green infrastructure in cities in the process of adaptation to climate change") is implemented in the years 2023-2029 within the LIFE program by a consortium led by MGGP Aero, in cooperation with the University of Warsaw, the University of Lodz, Sieker, and the City of Wrocław. Project is co-financed by European Union funds under the LIFE program and the National Fund for Environmental Protection and Water Management.
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