Abstracts Geography

Late-summer heat waves and their impact on hyperthermia-related deaths in football players

by Myron Thomas Petro

Extreme heat is the leading cause of U.S. weather-related fatalities in most years. This study examines late-summer heat waves in the state of Georgia to assess their impact on the general population. Late-summer heat waves across the entire United States are then investigated to determine if deaths due to hyperthermia in football players are caused by heat waves, or just natural variation. Finally, cases of death due to hyperthermia in football players are modeled using BioKlima, an energy-balance modeling software, in order to determine the exact conditions that put players in danger during the day they were exposed to extreme heat. In addition, the effectiveness of predicting dangerous conditions for three different perceived temperature indices is evaluated in order to allow coaches and administrators to make better educated decisions in the future as to whether or not football activities should take place.