The 1995 Chicago heat wave was a heat wave which led to 739 heat-related deaths in Chicago over a period of five days. Most of the victims of the heat wave were elderly poor residents of the city, who could not afford air conditioning and did not open windows or sleep outside for fear of crime. The heat wave also heavily impacted the wider Midwestern region, with additional deaths in both St. Louis, Missouri and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
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 was the second warmest July temperature (warmest being 110°F (43°C) set on July 23, 1934) since records began at Chicago Midway International Airport in 1928. Nighttime low temperatures were unusually high — in the upper 70s and lower 80s °F (about 26°C).
At the peak of the heat wave, as was the case in the summer of 1988, and possibly 1977, Madison, Wisconsin probably would have broken its all-time maximum temperature record of 107°F (42°C) had the reporting station been in the same location as it was during the 1930s.
The 2003 European heat wave led to the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540.France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in parts of Southern Europe. Peer-reviewed analysis places the European death toll at more than 70,000.
By country
France
In France, 14,802 heat-related deaths (mostly among the elderly) occurred during the heat wave, according to the French National Institute of Health. France does not commonly have very hot summers, particularly in the northern areas, but seven days with temperatures of more than 40°C (104°F) were recorded in Auxerre, Yonne during July and August 2003. Because of the usually relatively mild summers, most people did not know how to react to very high temperatures (for instance, with respect to rehydration), and most single-family homes and residential facilities built in the last 50 years were not equipped with air conditioning. Furthermore, while contingency plans were made for a variety of natural and man-made catastrophes, high temperatures had rarely been considered a major hazard.
How the deadly 1995 Chicago heat wave compares to the COVID-19 pandemic
Twenty-five years ago this July, Chicago survived its worst natural disaster in history. Over 700 people died when a heat wave swept through the city.
published: 10 Apr 2020
Climate change: Lessons from the 1995 Chicago heatwave • FRANCE 24 English
As climate change continues to take effect, we are all going to have to change the way we behave in order to survive. That's the conclusion of Eric Klinenberg, a professor of social science at New York University who's written a book focusing on the extreme 1995 heatwave in Chicago. Temperatures there hit over 41°C, killing hundreds of people. Klinenberg says it's not just infrastructure that will have to change, but the whole way we interact with our families and those living around us. #Perspective #Climate
https://f24.my/8OCy.y
🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN
🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/
Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on...
published: 15 Feb 2022
Officials mark 25th anniversary of Chicago heat wave
On Monday, local leaders acknowledged lessons learned more than a generation ago when an unrelenting heat wave became the deadliest natural disaster in Chicago's history.
published: 13 Jul 2020
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of the tragic 1995 Chicago heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?
published: 09 Aug 2020
1995 Chicago Heat Wave
This is a short informative piece on the 1995 Chicago Heat Wave. Created by Amanda Dragovic for Natural Disasters at Columbia College Chicago.
published: 10 May 2018
Death toll of Chicago's 1995 heat wave revealed same racial disparities as coronavirus today
Chicago experienced the deadliest natural disaster in its history 25 years ago this month when 739 people died in a heat wave.
published: 08 Jul 2020
Conversation From our Archive: Chicago's 1995 Heat Wave
For more on this story go to http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/climate-change/
From our archive: Ray Suarez talks with author Eric Klinenberg about his book on the 1995 heat wave.
published: 09 Oct 2012
More than half the US experiencing dangerous heat wave
In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people; emergency rooms are on alert, bracing for an influx of heat-related emergencies.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 'WORLD NEWS TONIGHT':
https://bit.ly/2GhMy6x
WATCH OTHER FULL EPISODES OF WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
http://abc.go.com/shows/world-news-tonight
As climate change continues to take effect, we are all going to have to change the way we behave in order to survive. That's the conclusion of Eric Klinenberg, ...
As climate change continues to take effect, we are all going to have to change the way we behave in order to survive. That's the conclusion of Eric Klinenberg, a professor of social science at New York University who's written a book focusing on the extreme 1995 heatwave in Chicago. Temperatures there hit over 41°C, killing hundreds of people. Klinenberg says it's not just infrastructure that will have to change, but the whole way we interact with our families and those living around us. #Perspective #Climate
https://f24.my/8OCy.y
🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN
🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/
Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on Twitter: https://f24.my/TWen
Discover the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
As climate change continues to take effect, we are all going to have to change the way we behave in order to survive. That's the conclusion of Eric Klinenberg, a professor of social science at New York University who's written a book focusing on the extreme 1995 heatwave in Chicago. Temperatures there hit over 41°C, killing hundreds of people. Klinenberg says it's not just infrastructure that will have to change, but the whole way we interact with our families and those living around us. #Perspective #Climate
https://f24.my/8OCy.y
🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN
🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/
Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on Twitter: https://f24.my/TWen
Discover the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
On Monday, local leaders acknowledged lessons learned more than a generation ago when an unrelenting heat wave became the deadliest natural disaster in Chicago'...
On Monday, local leaders acknowledged lessons learned more than a generation ago when an unrelenting heat wave became the deadliest natural disaster in Chicago's history.
On Monday, local leaders acknowledged lessons learned more than a generation ago when an unrelenting heat wave became the deadliest natural disaster in Chicago's history.
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of the tragic 1995 Chicago heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course...
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of the tragic 1995 Chicago heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of the tragic 1995 Chicago heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?
For more on this story go to http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/climate-change/
From our archive: Ray Suarez talks with author Eric Klinenberg about his book on ...
For more on this story go to http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/climate-change/
From our archive: Ray Suarez talks with author Eric Klinenberg about his book on the 1995 heat wave.
For more on this story go to http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/climate-change/
From our archive: Ray Suarez talks with author Eric Klinenberg about his book on the 1995 heat wave.
In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people; emergency rooms are on alert, bracing for an influx of heat-related emergencies.
WATCH THE FULL EP...
In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people; emergency rooms are on alert, bracing for an influx of heat-related emergencies.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 'WORLD NEWS TONIGHT':
https://bit.ly/2GhMy6x
WATCH OTHER FULL EPISODES OF WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
http://abc.go.com/shows/world-news-tonight
In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people; emergency rooms are on alert, bracing for an influx of heat-related emergencies.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 'WORLD NEWS TONIGHT':
https://bit.ly/2GhMy6x
WATCH OTHER FULL EPISODES OF WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
http://abc.go.com/shows/world-news-tonight
As climate change continues to take effect, we are all going to have to change the way we behave in order to survive. That's the conclusion of Eric Klinenberg, a professor of social science at New York University who's written a book focusing on the extreme 1995 heatwave in Chicago. Temperatures there hit over 41°C, killing hundreds of people. Klinenberg says it's not just infrastructure that will have to change, but the whole way we interact with our families and those living around us. #Perspective #Climate
https://f24.my/8OCy.y
🔔 Subscribe to France 24 now: https://f24.my/YTen
🔴 LIVE - Watch FRANCE 24 English 24/7 here: https://f24.my/YTliveEN
🌍 Read the latest International News and Top Stories: https://www.france24.com/en/
Like us on Facebook: https://f24.my/FBen
Follow us on Twitter: https://f24.my/TWen
Discover the news in pictures on Instagram: https://f24.my/IGen
On Monday, local leaders acknowledged lessons learned more than a generation ago when an unrelenting heat wave became the deadliest natural disaster in Chicago's history.
Cooked: Survival by Zip Code tells the story of the tragic 1995 Chicago heatwave, the most traumatic in U.S. history, in which 739 citizens died over the course of just a single week, most of them poor, elderly, and African American. Cooked is a story about life, death, and the politics of crisis in an American city that asks the question: Was this a one-time tragedy, or an appalling trend?
For more on this story go to http://www.pbs.org/newshour/topic/climate-change/
From our archive: Ray Suarez talks with author Eric Klinenberg about his book on the 1995 heat wave.
In 1995, a heat wave in Chicago killed more than 700 people; emergency rooms are on alert, bracing for an influx of heat-related emergencies.
WATCH THE FULL EPISODE OF 'WORLD NEWS TONIGHT':
https://bit.ly/2GhMy6x
WATCH OTHER FULL EPISODES OF WORLD NEWS TONIGHT:
http://abc.go.com/shows/world-news-tonight
Heat Wave Ethel Waters Were having a Heat Wave, A tropical Heat Wave. The tempratures rising, It isnt surprising. She certainly can, can-can. She started the Heat Wave By letting her seat wave. And in such a way That the customers say That she certainly can, can-can. Gee her anatomy, made the mercury Jump to ninety three. yes sir! Were having a Heat Wave, A tropical Heat Wave. The way that she moves That thermometer proves That she certainly can, can-can.