As wildfires, severe storms, droughts, and flooding impact daily lives of Americans in all 50 states as a result of climate change, some media outlets have upheld the Great Lake region as a potential climate refuge.
Yet the region is not exempt from the changing climate currently impacting and uprooting lives all over the world.
Consider the facts.
In the last decade, Lake Michigan rose more than six feet in less than eight years and then fell three feet in three years. In February, Chicago-area residents flocked outside as temperatures reached 74 degrees, making it the warmest February on record. Last summer, temperatures in Chicago reached 100 degrees, a rarity in the city. In early July, Chicago-area residents witnessed a cluster of severe storms cause flash flooding and power outages, including on the West Side. It also forced the cancellation of the NASCAR Chicago Street Race.
Yet at the same time, Illinois was experiencing a drought (April 1 through June 30 brought the 11th-driest period on record in Illinois), a disaster that cost billions of dollars. This drought, which re-intensified at the end of the summer, impacted Illinois farms and dropped river levels.
“In the coming decades, Chicago will experience warmer and wetter winters and hotter and drier summers due to climate change. These temperature and humidity shifts will also lead to changes in weather and increased frequency of severe, dangerous, and financially damaging storms,” said Jelena Collins, founder of the Climate Youth Coalition and 2022 OPRF graduate studying Climate Science and Physics at McGill University.
Extreme temperatures and floods disproportionately impact poorer and minority communities, as experts say climate change exacerbates problems for under-invested communities, like those on the West Side, including Austin.
“Nearly every climate model has projected an intense increase in precipitation in the Midwest, leading to greater risks of flooding, stress on infrastructure, and, conversely, more intense dry seasons,” Collins said. “These dry seasons are damaging to agriculture, increase respiratory hazards, and again place undue strain on infrastructure.”
This begs the question: In coming years, how can Illinoisans expect to be further impacted by climate change? And what should we do to prepare?
Illinois Extension, University of Illinois network of educators and experts working to sustainably protect the health and well-being of Illinois residents, reported that the primary impacts of climate change in the region will be an amplified risk of high temperatures and heavy precipitation.
These changes can also create public health hazards and expand mosquito and tick populations, as well as corresponding diseases. To prevent these bites, the CDC recommends using insect-repellent, wearing loose and long clothes, treating clothes with 0.5% permethrin, and checking for ticks after being outdoors.
Higher temperatures and heavier rainfall can impact air quality, affecting people with healthy lungs and exacerbating issues for people with seasonal allergies or asthma. Climate change also impacts residents’ mental health. The Mental Health and Climate Change Alliance has collected resources for individuals experiencing climate distress.
Above all, Collins stressed the importance of flood preparation. “I think residents of Chicago would be wise to prepare for flooding in the immediate years to come,” she said. “This could mean updating their basements or housing foundations, but also having emergency equipment on hand in case of severe rainstorms.”
To prepare houses for floods, the Natural Resources Defense Council recommends buying flood insurance, elevating your boiler, and reconsidering your landscaping to help water seep into the ground.
In emergency flood situations, Illinois Extension recommends that households prepare for extreme weather by gathering supplies including a first aid kit, water, canned food, and medications. Additional resources for emergency situations can be found on its Extreme Weather Preparedness site.