How is climate change impacting Chicago’s urban farms?
Urban farmers say they’re facing more extreme heat and rainfall as they try to grow crops for their communities.
By Indira Khera
WBEZ Chicago
Oct. 15, 2022
Excerpt:
In the spring of 2019, Chicago received 16.36 inches of precipitation — the second-highest total on record, according to the National Weather Service. But just two years later, the city got 3.75 inches — the third-lowest spring amount recorded.
And the city’s climate has been getting warmer, according to the 2008 Climate Change and Chicago report. It noted that temperatures have risen by at least 2.6 Fahrenheit since 1980, and above-average annual temperatures have become common.
The number of days in Chicago above 100 degrees Fahrenheit could increase throughout the 21st century, according to the National Climate Assessment in 2018. By the end of the century, the upper estimate is 63 days.
Big cities such as Chicago are particularly vulnerable to the “urban heat island” effect — where features like pavement absorb more heat and increase temperatures. That urban heat means Chicago’s farms can sometimes end up warmer than farms elsewhere in Illinois.
Zachary Grant, a local food systems and small farms educator with the University of Illinois Extension, said because of this temperature difference, urban farms can provide a research opportunity, allowing rural farms to peer into their climate future.
“Being able to study some of these cropping systems in urban areas can provide this window into what the next 30, 40 years are going to look like in rural farming areas,” Grant said.
At Star Farm in Chicago’s Back of the Yards Neighborhood, staff members said this season started with unusually cold temperatures, making it hard for plants like sweet pea, kale and spinach to grow. The weather then swung much warmer, and seeds could not properly germinate. They share pictures of plant leaves crisped and burned in the sun.
