Entry tags:
1995
I am reminded by various local news outlets that this week is the 20th anniversary of the 1995 heat wave in Chicago. Said heat wave, with two days in a row above 100 degrees Fahrenheit (40 Celsius), killed over 700 people.
My personal exposure to the heat was that I was staying at my great-aunt Barbara's house in Chicago (Kedzie and 83rd) and working as an intern for a network support company. I was assigned to a client in the Loop, so my job involved walking to / from the train to the client site in a suit. On one of the two days, I also had to walk five or six blocks each way to pick some equipment up. I then went home to an attic room with a window AC unit that could barely pull the room down to 80. It was, in short, hot.
But I was young, thinner than I am now, and did have access to some AC. So my heat stress levels, although elevated, were in no way dangerous. Not so for some.
My personal exposure to the heat was that I was staying at my great-aunt Barbara's house in Chicago (Kedzie and 83rd) and working as an intern for a network support company. I was assigned to a client in the Loop, so my job involved walking to / from the train to the client site in a suit. On one of the two days, I also had to walk five or six blocks each way to pick some equipment up. I then went home to an attic room with a window AC unit that could barely pull the room down to 80. It was, in short, hot.
But I was young, thinner than I am now, and did have access to some AC. So my heat stress levels, although elevated, were in no way dangerous. Not so for some.