1995 Chicago heat wave 294948 220533427 2008-06-20T09:34:34Z 71.223.102.34 [[WP:UNDO|Undid]] revision 220400657 by [[Special:Contributions/64.107.166.2|64.107.166.2]] ([[User talk:64.107.166.2|talk]]) The '''1995 Chicago heat wave''' led to approximately 600 heat-related deaths over a period of five days.<ref>''[http://www.annals.org/cgi/content/abstract/129/3/173 Near-Fatal Heat Stroke during the 1995 Heat Wave in Chicago]''. ''Annals of Internal Medicine'' Vol. 129 Issue 3</ref> 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]], [[rainstorm|rain]], [[flood]]s, [[hurricane]]s, and [[tornado]]es.<ref name="Klinenberg">{{cite book | last = Klinenberg | first = Eric | title = Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago | url = http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/443213in.html | year = 2002 | publisher = Chicago University Press | location = Chicago, IL }}</ref><ref name="slate">''[http://slate.com/id/2068612/ Dead Heat: Why don't Americans sweat over heat-wave deaths?]'' By Eric Klinenberg. Slate.com. Posted Tuesday, July 30, 2002</ref> ==Weather== The temperatures soared to record highs in July with the hottest weather occurring from [[July 12]] to [[July 16]]. The high of 106° [[Fahrenheit|F]] (41° [[Celsius|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 26 °C) as well. Record humidity levels also accompanied the hot weather. The heat index reached 119F (48.3C) at O'Hare airport, and 125F (51.7C) at Midway Airport. ==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]].<ref>''Impacts and Responses to the 1995 Heat Wave: A Call to Action'' Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Volume 77, Issue 7 (July 1996) pp. 1497–1506</ref> 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]].<ref name="Klinenberg">...</ref> 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.<ref name="publichealth">''[http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=1380980 Mortality in Chicago attributed to the July 1995 heat wave]'' S Whitman, G Good, E R Donoghue, N Benbow, W Shou, and S Mou Am J Public Health. 1997 September; 87(9): 1515–1518.</ref> Further epidemiologic analysis 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.<ref name="Klinenberg">...</ref> [[Mortality displacement]] refers to the deaths that occur during a heat wave that would have occurred anyway in a near future, but which were precipitated by the heat wave itself. In other words, people who are already very ill and close to death (expected to die, for instance, within days or a few weeks) might die sooner than they might have otherwise, because of the impact of the heat wave on their health. However, because their deaths have been hastened by the heat wave, in the months that follow the number of deaths becomes lower than average. This is also called a ''harvesting effect'', in which part of the expected (future) mortality shifts forward a few weeks to the period of the heat wave. Initially some public officials suggested that the high death toll during the weeks of the heat wave was due to mortality displacement, an analysis of the data later found that mortality displacement during the heat wave was limited to about 26% of the estimated 692 excess deaths in the period between June 21 and August 10, 1995. Mortality risks affected Blacks disproportionally. Appropriately targeted interventions may have a tangible effect on life expectancy.<ref>''[http://www.ajph.org/cgi/content/abstract/97/Supplement_1/S158 The Effect of the 1995 Heat Wave in Chicago on All-Cause and Cause-Specific Mortality]'' Reinhard Kaiser, MD, MPH, Alain Le Tertre, PhD, Joel Schwartz, PhD, Carol A. Gotway, PhD, W. Randolph Daley, DVM, MPH and Carol H. Rubin, DVM, MPH. American Journal of Public Health</ref> ==Aggravating factors== Impacts in the Chicago urban center were exacerbated by an [[urban heat island]] that raised nocturnal temperatures by more than 2°C.<ref>''[http://ams.allenpress.com/perlserv/?request=get-abstract&doi=10.1175%2F1520-0477(1996)077%3C1507%3ATJHWIT%3E2.0.CO%3B2 The July 1995 Heat Wave in the Midwest: A Climatic Perspective and Critical Weather Factors]'' Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society. Volume 77, Issue 7 (July 1996)</ref> 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 failure]]s, inadequate [[ambulance]] service and hospital facilities, and lack of preparedness.<ref>''Scrutinizing the Heat: On Ethnic Myths and the Importance of Shoe Leather'' Mitchell Duneier Contemporary Sociology, Vol. 33, No. 2 (Mar., 2004), pp. 139-150</ref> 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 center]]s 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.<ref name="Klinenberg">...</ref> 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. The scale of the human tragedy sparked denial in some quarters, grief and blame elsewhere.<ref name="Klinenberg">...</ref> From the moment the local medical examiner began to report heat-related mortality figures, political leaders, journalists, and in turn the Chicago public have actively denied the disaster's significance. Although so many city residents died that the coroner had to call in nine refrigerated trucks to store the bodies, skepticism about the trauma continues today. In Chicago, people still debate whether the medical examiner exaggerated the numbers and wonder if the crisis was a "media event."<ref name="slate">...</ref> ''The American Journal of Public Health'' established that the medical examiner's numbers actually undercounted the mortality by about 250 since hundreds of bodies were buried before they could be autopsied.<ref name="publichealth">...</ref> ==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) During the week of the heat wave, there were 11% more hospital admissions than average for comparison weeks and 35% more than expected among patients aged 65 years and older. The majority of this excess (59%) were treatments for dehydration, heat stroke, and heat exhaustion.<ref>''[http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6VHT-3WK3DDW-1&_user=10&_coverDate=05%2F31%2F1999&_rdoc=1&_fmt=&_orig=search&_sort=d&view=c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10&md5=fb7a517067b1fbc84532323f1d936879 Excess hospital admissions during the July 1995 heat wave in Chicago.]'' J. Semenza. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Volume 16, Issue 4, Pages 269-277</ref> ==References== {{reflist}} ==External links== * [http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/443213in.html Interview with Eric Klinenberg] * [http://www.emergency.com/heatwave.htm "July 13,1995--Caution Urged During Heat Wave] * [http://www.sws.uiuc.edu/atmos/statecli/General/1995Chicago.htm The 1995 Heat Wave in Chicago Illinois] [[Category:History of Chicago, Illinois]] [[Category:1995 meteorology]] [[Category:Weather events in the United States|Chicago heat]] [[Category:Heat waves]] [[Category:1995 natural disasters|Chicago]] [[zh:1995年芝加哥熱浪]]