Interesting juxtaposition of stories in the Chicago Tribune this morning. First, scientists have linked warm weather to kidney stones, implying that climate change will increase the number of reported cases in Chicago:
Linking climate change to kidney stones seems odd, but it's based on the solid medical finding that people in warm regions develop the condition at increased rates. Sweating in warm weather removes fluid from the body and increases the salt concentration in urine, which can spur the growth of kidney stones.
By the year 2050, the new report estimates that a large chunk of Illinois will fall within America's "kidney-stone belt," which currently includes only Southern states. The Chicago area alone would see up to 100,000 extra cases each year, according to the report published Monday in a widely respected journal, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Then there's today's weather forecast, calling for actual summer weather:
Strings of 90-degree days—like those predicted here for the remainder of the workweek—have occurred in 98 percent of the city's summers since 1928. But, the first of them typically occurs on or about June 7. That makes the hot-weather period predicted to dominate the area almost five weeks late. As many as four consecutive 90-degree highs are likely to occur here by the end of the week, something that has occurred on 53 of the past 80 warm seasons—or nearly two-thirds of the time.
In other words, usually it's this hot earlier in the year, so be glad. Sort of.