Chicago Gets Smarter About Deadly Heat Waves
One of the deadliest consequences of global warming is heat waves. Extreme heat is the number one weather-related cause of death in the US. Chicago learned this the hard way in 1995 when it became the poster child for what not to do in a heat wave. Everything that could go wrong did—infrastructure failure, power grid failure, and failure of the hospital system. In the end, the official deaths totaled 739 over the course of five days in Chicago. This is likely a low estimate given the difficulty of attributing deaths to a heat wave. To compare, in Europe in 2022, about 60,000 deaths were reported during the extremely hot summer. It’s only going to get worse.
The one group that experienced the highest mortality during the 1995 heat wave were impoverished seniors, especially senior men. Seniors are more sensitive to heat but least likely to leave their home due to safety issues or fear of thefts. Seniors also do not feel thirst at the same rate as a younger person and may not feel themselves getting overheated. And some medications make one less able to perspire, which helps you cool off.
One of the best things you can do to keep your home cool is to upgrade the insulation to keep the heat out (and keep costs down!). If you have an AC system, one of the biggest differences you can make is by cleaning its filters. A clean filter is the difference between a miserably hot night and a pleasant one, plus it saves money and electricity. Use fans in conjunction with AC to move air. Block out your windows to prevent sunlight from heating your home. Similarly, unplug the electronics you aren’t using—the electricity bleeds heat! Read more tips on how to stay cool, and know the symptoms of heat illnesses.
As climate change supercharges heat waves, Chicago has instituted cooling centers and has brought in the community to share its knowledge of heat experience in specific areas of the neighborhoods. It also reduced the use of coarse measurements from satellites and in its place had 100 community citizen scientists drive around Chicago in a predetermined path and time to take measurements.
Join the Environmental Action Committee as we work to justly affect climate change with the ultimate goal of preserving democracy by maintaining the health of our one and only planet and all that lives on it. Email us at environment@lwvchicago.org for access to our next meeting on July 15 at 4 pm.