Deadly Heatwave In The United States 1936

The women in the US are cooling themselves from the 1936 heat wave. (Minnesota Historical Society)

JAKARTA - Heat waves are not a new problem that hit the world. The United States (US) felt it in 1936. The highest temperature reached 41 degrees Celsius. The entire country of Uncle Sam is overwhelmed by the heat wave. Everyday life is getting more difficult.

The United States, which has just been hit by The Great Depression (Large Depression), is forced to accept the effects of heat waves. Instead of heat waves only causing drought problems, hundreds of US citizens have died in various states.

Great Depression is one of the worst phases in US history. At that time, the fall in stock prices on the New York stock exchange changed everything in October 1929. The trade current became sluggish. Industry goods are starting to disappear from the market.

This condition makes the life of US citizens even more difficult. Many companies in various fields went out of business. Unemployment also appears everywhere. The US government also refuses to give up. They continue to make improvements in the midst of the Great Depression a mass that just ended in 1939.

The economy was immediately repaired. However, unlucky is not in the calendar. The new disaster slowly comes slowly marked by the early winter of 1936. At first there was nothing strange about the winter. The problems faced are the same as winter in general.

Some livestock die and people are affected by hypothermia. Nothing surprising. People live it calmly and have no idea what bad things to face in the next few months.

In fact, the weather after winter did not necessarily improve. Like falling on a ladder, the US was hit by a new problem. Heat waves, his name. Heat waves are easily understood as something hot air comes from warm air trapped in the earth's atmosphere.

The heat wave that hit the US in July 1936 was not an ordinary earth temperature increase. The heat wave is in the deadly category. In fact, one state reached temperatures of up to 41 degrees Celsius.

This disaster is seen by some experts as purely natural factors, not climate change like the current era. This condition is because the US has no sign of a heat wave. At its peak, heat waves are starting to become a threat in many states in the US.

The temperature began to rise rapidly in March, with increasingly rare rainfall. The occasional storm will give farmers hope that the high temperatures that occur will initially disappear. On the other hand, they continue to climb."

In June, drought hit the Northeast, causing hot and dry soils to heat up the air. Shortly thereafter, the West and South regions experienced the same conditions," wrote George Bass in his writing on the Washington Post page entitled The US is Sweltering. The Heat Wave of 1936 was Far Deadlier (2022).

The impact of the heat wave is everywhere. Most states are feeling the approaching hot and hot air from early July 1936. Hot air is not only spreading in New York, but in several other states such as New Jersey to Pennsylvania.

This condition has caused severe drought to hit the entire US. The problem was exacerbated by Americans who were beaten by the Great Depression to become even more miserable. They are forced to be smart to survive in the midst of the onslaught of hot air.

Take for example some people in Central Park who have to ask for ice from government offices. Even schools in various places have to be closed. The closure even took up to one month.

Problems arise. Heat waves began to take lives. The hot hot air makes people lose their minds because of the heat. Many of them were also arrested because they chose to sleep on public beaches. Even if later released.

Nationally, 997 people died in a heatwave for 10 days, 76 of whom were in the New York area. A total of 21 deaths in New York were caused by drowning, as children and adults could not swim but chose to jump into the water to avoid hot weather.

Other city residents try to keep their normal routines going on, and some fall on the roof of the house, in their apartments, even on the train. A 29-year-old janitor died next to a heat bath in his building, "said Emily M. Bernstein in her article in The New York Times newspaper Recalling July '36, When Streets and Dentures Melted (1993).