By Ian Round, Jazmin Conner, Jermaine Rowley and John Fairhall University of Maryland

Editor’s note: This is the first story in a four-part series on Code Red heat in Baltimore by the University of Maryland’s Capital News Service and the Howard Center for Investigative Journalism. A longer version is available to read on the Code Red project website.

BALTIMORE, Maryland–As the temperature in their rowhouse apartment rose to a humid 96 degrees F during a summer heat wave, Michael Thomas and Alberta Wilkerson sat on their bed, in front of fans, wiping sweat and drinking water, trying to keep their minds off the heat.

Thomas, 61, played computer games and kept an eye on the TV. Despite the heat, Wilkerson had an appetite, so she boiled a hot dog and ate it while she watched “Criminal Minds.”

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