8. The Chicago heat wave of 1995
Chicago’s weather is usually regarded for its cold winters, windswept by chill breezes along its streets and lakefront. In 1995 it became noted for an extended heatwave which was lethal in its intensity. The Chicago heat wave was generally regarded as a period of five days, with the intense heat accompanied by high humidity, which became worse from the evaporation of water from the lakes and streams as well as the release of moisture from plants. Nighttime temperatures remained high during the period, and offered little relief as the humidity remained in place. Chicago’s reputed breeziness did not exhibit itself. Many residents, particularly in poorer areas of the city, did not leave windows open out of fear of crime, and many did not have fans or air conditioning. By the time the heatwave moved off to the east Chicago had lost 739 of its citizens to heat-related deaths.
Chicago had suffered heat waves many times in its past, and the poor of the city had survived for the most part by sleeping outdoors. Crime drove many of the elderly poor into their locked homes, behind locked windows, in 1995. The majority of those killed by the excessive heat were elderly poor, with men suffering a higher death rate than women. Officially there was not a recorded death toll for the event, with city and state officials differing on the number of deaths which were directly caused by the heat, in comparison to the number of deaths which would have occurred due to natural causes. More than forty dead were never claimed by relatives, they were buried in a mass grave later in the summer. The city of Chicago finally declared a heat emergency on the final day of the heat wave.