Tampere heat map is now available online to help residents find shade, drinking water and cooler public spaces during heatwaves, as Finland’s largest inland city responds to rising urban temperatures and growing health risks linked to extreme heat.
The City of Tampere published the map on 23 June. According to Yle, it is believed to be the first service of its kind in Finland. The tool brings together free public places where people can cool down, including air-conditioned municipal buildings, parks, beaches and drinking water points.
Tampere heat map shows where to cool down
The new heat relief map is designed for everyday use during hot days. It identifies free air-conditioned public indoor spaces, such as selected libraries and cultural venues, where residents can spend time without having to buy anything.
In the city centre, examples include the main library Metso and the cultural centre Laikku. The map also shows public beaches maintained by the city and drinking water fountains operated by Tampereen Vesi, the municipal water utility.
The city has so far included only its own facilities, although many shopping centres and cafés are also air-conditioned. An English version of the map is available, making the tool accessible to international residents, visitors and students.
Tampere has also added green areas that, according to its heat island study, can be about four degrees cooler than surrounding built-up areas during hot weather. Vegetation, shade and nearby water bodies help reduce perceived heat compared with dense asphalt and concrete environments.
Why Tampere is exposed to urban heat islands
The map was created because Tampere is becoming hotter. Climate change is increasing the number of hot days in Finland, and prolonged heatwaves are becoming more relevant even in cities traditionally associated with colder climates.
Yle reports that Tampere has the worst urban heat island effect among Finland’s large cities in an OECD comparison covering seven Finnish urban areas. Heat islands occur when dense built environments absorb and retain heat, especially where there is a high share of asphalt, concrete and buildings, and too little vegetation.
The problem is particularly visible in parts of central Tampere. According to the city’s own assessments cited by Yle, around 70 percent of the eastern city centre belongs to a zone where surface temperatures can rise above 40°C during hot spells.
Other areas identified as difficult during heat include Lielahti and Nekala industrial districts, Hatanpää, the area around Tampere University Hospital and central Hervanta. These are places where built surfaces, traffic infrastructure and limited shade can make outdoor conditions uncomfortable or risky.
Heat is becoming a public health issue in Finland
The Tampere heat map is not only an urban planning tool. It is also part of a wider public health response.
The World Health Organization’s Europe office warned in June that more than 200,000 people across Europe have died from heat-related causes in the past four years. Heat is now one of the clearest and deadliest effects of climate change on the continent.
Extreme heat affects people unevenly. Older people, children, pregnant women, people with chronic conditions, outdoor workers and those living alone are among the most exposed groups. In cities, social inequality can increase vulnerability, because residents without access to cool homes, shaded courtyards or private transport may have fewer options during heatwaves.
For Finland, the issue is increasingly relevant. Although the country still has a colder climate than southern Europe, heatwaves can be dangerous precisely because homes, public spaces and daily habits have not always been designed for prolonged high temperatures.
Experts recommend simple measures during hot spells: drink enough water, stay in the shade or in cool indoor spaces, avoid heavy physical activity during the hottest hours, wear light clothing and check on people at higher risk.
Similar cooling initiatives are spreading in Europe
Tampere is a Finnish first, but it follows a broader European trend. Several cities have started to map cool places, drinking water points and public climate shelters as heatwaves become more frequent.
Barcelona is one of the most developed examples. The city has expanded its climate shelter network to more than 500 spaces for summer 2026, including public buildings, parks and smaller “micro-shelters” in private facilities. City officials say that, on weekdays in July, 99 percent of residents should have a climate shelter within a ten-minute walk.
Paris has also built a network of cooling places. The French capital promotes more than 1,400 cool spots, including parks, museums, libraries, swimming pools, fountains, religious buildings and air-conditioned spaces. Its longer-term target is to ensure that everyone can reach a cool island within seven minutes on foot by 2030.
In the Nordic and North Sea area, adaptation is moving more through planning and pilot projects than through large public cooling maps. The Interreg North Sea project Cool Cities, involving 11 partners in five countries, is developing networks of shaded routes and cool spots to reduce heat stress in urban areas. Copenhagen’s climate adaptation planning has long identified trees, green surfaces and water as cooling elements, while Stockholm has tested heat mapping and nature-based solutions in urban districts such as Stockholm Royal Seaport.
These examples show that heat adaptation is no longer limited to southern Europe. Northern cities are beginning to treat summer heat as a structural urban challenge.
A small map with a larger climate message
Tampere’s initiative is practical and modest, but it marks a shift in how Finnish cities communicate climate adaptation. Instead of treating heat as an exceptional weather event, the city is offering a public tool that helps residents make safer choices during hot days.
If the service proves useful, other Finnish municipalities may follow. The next step will be to assess whether the map reaches the people most exposed to heat, including older residents, families with small children, people with chronic illnesses and those living in overheated homes.
For Nordic cities, the question is no longer whether heatwaves belong to their climate reality. The question is how quickly public services, urban planning and health systems can adapt to summers that are becoming warmer, longer and more difficult to manage.
