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The 1995 Chicago heat wave led to approximately 600 heat-related deaths over a period of five days. It is now considered to be one of the worst weather-related disasters in American history. Weather is a term that encompasses phenomena in the atmosphere of a planet. ...
The scale was shocking, although the event itself may not have been that unusual. Eric Klinenberg, author of the 2002 book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago, has noted that in the United States, the loss of human life in hot spells in summer exceeds that caused by all other weather events combined, including lightning, rain, floods, hurricanes, and tornadoes. Lightning is an atmospheric discharge of electricity, usually, but not always, during rain storms, and frequently during volcanic eruptions or dust storms. ...
Rain falling Rain on an umbrella Rain is a form of precipitation, as are snow, sleet, hail, and dew. ...
Picture of flooding in Amphoe Sena, Ayutthaya Province, Thailand For other uses, see Flood (disambiguation). ...
This article is about weather phenomena. ...
A tornado in central Oklahoma. ...
Weather
The temperatures soared to record highs in July with the hottest weather occurring from July 12 to July 16. The high of 106° F (41° C) on July 13 set the record for the warmest July temperature since records began at Chicago Midway International Airport in 1928. Nighttime low temperatures were unusually high (upper 70s and lower 80s °F - about 25 °C) as well. Record humidity levels also accompanied the hot weather. July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ...
July 16 is the 197th day (198th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 168 days remaining. ...
Fahrenheit is a temperature scale named after the German physicist Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit (1686–1736), who proposed it in 1724. ...
Celsius relates to the Celsius or centrigrade temperature scale. ...
July 13 is the 194th day (195th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 171 days remaining. ...
This an article about the airport in Chicago. ...
Year 1928 (MCMXXVIII) was a leap year starting on Sunday (link will display full calendar). ...
Victims Most of the heat wave victims were the elderly poor living in the heart of the city, who either had no working air conditioning or could not afford to turn it on. Many older citizens were also hesitant to open windows and doors at night for fear of crime. Elderly women, who may have been more socially engaged, were less vulnerable than elderly men. By contrast, during the heat waves of the 1930s, many residents slept outside in the parks or along the shore of Lake Michigan. Note: in the broadest sense, air conditioning can refer to any form of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning. ...
Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America, and the only one in the group located entirely within the United States. ...
Because of the nature of the disaster, and the slow response of authorities to recognize it, no official "death toll" has been determined. However, figures show that 739 additional people died in that particular week above the usual weekly average. Further epidemiologic analysis presented by Eric Klinenberg (author of Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago) showed that blacks were more likely to die than whites, and that Hispanics had an unusually low death rate due to heat. At the time, many blacks lived in areas of sub-standard housing and less cohesive neighborhoods, while Hispanics at the time lived in places with higher population density, and more social cohesion.
Aggravating factors A contributing factor in the heat wave is an effect called an urban heat island. Urban heat islands are caused by the concentration of buildings and pavement in urban areas, which tend to absorb more heat in the day and radiate less heat at night into their immediate surroundings than comparable rural sites. Therefore, built-up areas get hotter and stay hotter. Other aggravating factors were inadequate warnings, power failures, inadequate ambulance service and hospital facilities, poverty, racism and lack of preparedness. City officials did not release a heat emergency warning until the last day of the heat wave. Thus, such emergency measures as Chicago's five cooling centers were not fully utilized. The medical system of Chicago was severely taxed as thousands were taken to local hospitals with heat-related problems. In some cases, fire trucks were used as substitute ambulances. An urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surroundings. ...
A power outage is the loss of the electricity supply to an area. ...
An ambulance in San Jose Del Cabo, Mexico A Helicopter used as an Ambulance. ...
A cooling center is a temporary air-conditioned public space set up by local authorities to deal with the health effects of a heat wave. ...
Another powerful factor in the heat wave was that a temperature inversion grew over the city, and air stagnated in this situation. Pollutants and humidity were confined to ground level, and the air was becalmed and devoid of wind. Without wind to stir the air, temperatures grew even hotter than could be expected with just an urban heat island, and without wind there was truly no relief. Without any way to relieve the heat, even the inside of homes became ovens, with indoor temperature exceeding 90 °F (33 °C) at night. This was especially noticeable in areas which experienced frequent power outages. At Northwestern University just north of Chicago, summer school students lived in dormitories without air conditioning. In order to ease the effects of the heat, some of the students slept at night with water-soaked towels as blankets. Smoke rising in Lochcarron is stopped by an overlying layer of warmer air. ...
Humidity is the concentration of water vapor in the air. ...
Wind is the rough horizontal movement of air (as opposed to an air current) caused by uneven heating of the Earths surface. ...
The politics of disaster The scale of the human tragedy sparked denial in some quarters, grief and blame elsewhere. A thorough study of the sociology of this heat wave is Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago by Eric Klinenberg.
Statistics Chicago's daily low and high in 1995: - July 11: 73-90 °F (23-32 °C)
- July 12: 76-98 °F (24-37 °C)
- July 13: 81-106 °F (27-41 °C)
- July 14: 84-102 °F (29-39 °C)
- July 15: 77-99 °F (25-37 °C)
- July 16: 76-94 °F (24-34 °C)
- July 17: 73-89 °F (23-32 °c)
References - Klinenberg, Eric (2002). Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago. Chicago, IL: Chicago University Press.
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