As a virtual community conversation about impacts of climate change on the greater Chicago area unfolded last week, multiple tornadoes touched down in the western suburbs amid intense downpours and 70-degree weather. Temperatures dropped overnight and, the following day, it snowed.
“Today is a perfect case study for us to launch this discussion,” said Crystal Gardner, an Austin resident and founding member of the 290 IPO, an independent political organization representing Chicago’s West Side and the western suburbs, which co-hosted the event.
That week’s whiplash temperatures were connected to climate change, experts said. Harsh changes in weather like this are just one result of the changing climate, which, in addition to having worldwide effects, also influences communities on a local level with rising temperatures and increased precipitation.
The conversation also was sponsored by One Earth Collective, a nonprofit in Oak Park that organizes environmental programming, and the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments, a regional team that partners with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to investigate area climate issues and provide synthesized information to decision makers.
According to GLISA climatologist Omar Gates, since 1951, average temperatures in Northeast Illinois have increased by nearly three degrees. GLISA predicts that from 2040 to 2059, that number will increase by another three-to-six degrees. Gates said GLISA also projects up to 38 more days a year of temperatures over 90 degrees — up to 25 of those over 100 degrees — by mid-century.
Detrimental heat on the West Side
The Chicago area has already experienced these temperatures during last summer’s heat wave, which caused some days to feel as hot as 115 degrees. Residents living on the West Side, in Austin, Garfield Park and Lawndale, are often impacted more by this weather than other Chicagoans, since many live in heat islands where temperatures feel hotter because of the lack of green space and a higher density of buildings and pavement.
Increased amounts of ground level ozone and particulate matter are also impacting the climate and local communities. Decreased air quality especially affects those on the West Side, who live closer to sources of pollution, like areas of heavy transit and industrial corridors, than those in other neighborhoods. While poor air quality increases levels of respiratory and cardiovascular illness, the severity of these health problems increases when combined with high levels of heat.
Increasing precipitation in Chicago
In addition to rising temperatures, climate change will bring about more precipitation in Northeast Illinois in the coming decades. Gates said that, because of warming winters, there will likely be less snowfall in the future and an increase in rain.
Since 1951, precipitation has increased in the area by 15%. GLISA predicts up to 3.1 more inches of annual precipitation by 2059.
“Looking at the extremes, based upon observations, we’re seeing that those heaviest 1% of storms are actually increasing by 15%, just in Northeast Illinois,” Gates said, adding that events like these result in increased flooding — something the West Side is no stranger to.
Many Austin residents bore the brunt of damages from last July’s flooding, resulting in over $66 million in FEMA aid just to the West Side.
“We already knew this was coming in a sense, and we didn’t have a plan in place,” said Princess Shaw, a community organizer for West Side Long-Term Recovery Group, which has helped West Siders with flood damage. “How do I help people feel more safe or content knowing that there’s a possibility this might happen again?”
Mitigating climate change effects
Gates responded by offering the options of mitigation, via removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere, or adapting to the changing climate. He mentioned the EPA’s Environmental Justice Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Centers. There are 16 of these centers across the country that have received $177 million to serve communities affected by environmental injustices. One of these centers is Blacks in Green in Chicago’s Woodlawn neighborhood.
Gates also suggested focusing on local programs for young people to teach them about inequalities associated with climate change and encourage them to pursue solutions in their communities.
“It’s not all doom and gloom because you, as the community, you as the local organizations here today, can lay the groundwork in order to address many of these impacts,” Gates said, “whether it’s through discussion, outreach, using Technical Assistance Centers, and trying to understand what’s available out there in order to adapt.”
