Further, current planetary temperatures measured by satellites and weather balloons are considerably below their average for the last two decades. In addition, heat-related mortality is going down. In 1995, Chicago saw several hundred deaths in a July heat wave. But there were 885 heat-related deaths in the Second City in 1955. Go back to 1900, when 10,000 Americans perished in the heat.
Air conditioners use more electricity than any other home appliance.
On a hot day, they create such demand for electricity that, sometimes, the power fails. After this, the county coroner isn't far around the corner. In fact, it was a power failure that magnified the 1995 Chicago tragedy. Normally in a heat wave, the poorer South Side experiences more deaths than the North Side. But a power outage in the affluent side of town resulted in a pretty equal distribution of fatalities across income classes.