Scorching temperatures in Chicago keep many indoors, while some brave the heat
CHICAGO (CBS) – The scorching temperatures on Wednesday kept many indoors with air conditioning.
That was except for CBS 2's Sabrina Franza who spent the day outside.
The heat was oppressive. CBS 2 was driving around the city all Wednesday talking to people out in the elements. Places where crowds normally gathered on summer days were empty.
At North Avenue Beach, there were some people coming in and out, but with school starting and temperatures so high, it seemed most people opted to stay away. Still, CBS 2 met a group that was working to clean up the beach, something they said was especially important this week after the Air and Water Show brought in big crowds over the weekend.
It's something the Alliance for the Great Lakes does all year. Volunteers and staff were hydrating to make it through the intense heat.
"This is obviously the busy season for us, and you know plastic pollution doesn't take a break because of the heat," said John Heuring, of the Alliance for the Great Lakes. "22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes each year, so we need volunteers on all five Great Lakes every day to keep plastics from getting into our drinking water, from getting into the wildlife, from getting into the habitat."
The work was no small feat in the heat. The group will use what they collected in trash bags to study the lake and the effects of plastic waste.
Elsewhere, the downtown architecture boat tour had significantly fewer patrons than normal.
CBS 2 went aboard the Wendella and met with a tour guide there. He said his groups all day were silent and barely laughed at his jokes, even if they were funny.
Despite the heat, the tour schedule was operating as normal. Guides pointed out the parts of the boat that are air-conditioned. They handed out Gatorades to employees and directed guests to places they can get water.
"They will sit out here the entire 45-minute tour, so I'm trying my best within this time period to remind people to stay hydrated," said tour guide John Miller. "I do it about three times before we take off. I'm like, 'Go get a water. Go downstairs. Enjoy the air conditioning before we take off because I don't stop too much.' There's only like a little five-minute break out there."
CBS 2 met one person who appeared unphased by the temperatures as they worked on Michigan Avenue.
Pedro Agudo is a cellist from Venezuela. He moved to the U.S. to join his sister a few months ago and said he used to play for the Philharmonic Orchestra in Lima, Peru. He now plays gigs here and there in Chicago and has a regular spot on Michigan Avenue where he plays songs that stop people in their tracks.
He said he was out on Wednesday because sharing music with others is what kept him going, no matter the temperature.
"I use this like therapy for me, because I am in a new country by myself and I used to feel like a little lonely, because I don't have too much friends here," Agudo said. "I play for myself, but people can enjoy it if they want to."