Did you know that heat waves in the united states kill more people than all other natural disasters combined?!? thats amazing! but sad... about 1500 people die each year in the US from heat waves, and less than 200/year from tornadoes, earthquakes and floods. the most deadly heat wave in recent years (in the US) was in Chicago, in July 1995. This heat wave lasted about a week and killed 739 people! People who are most at risk to die from a heat wave are "the poor, the old, residents of abandoned and violent neighborhoods who lived alone, lacked access to transportation and lacked air conditioning" (quote Dr.Klinenberg) Also it is predicted that by 2050 that heat deaths could increase from 1,500-3,900. Dr. Klinenberg see's this as a big problem, mostly because there is already a high death rate in alot of cities that dont even have high enough temperatures for a heat wave. also that most people dont take heat waves seriously, and they should start to. he says that if this many people died from a huricane then people would remember it, and if you ask some one about an old and very dangerous heat wave that they wouldnt even remember it.
I agree with his opinion. I never thought about heat waves before, and i never knew how deadly they were.
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