Heat Index

NATA has released an executive summary of a new position statement on exertional heat illnesses revising its 2002 statement to reflect new research and expert consensus.

When the heat index is above 95 degrees, athletes, especially children, are at increased risk of heat-related illness. Cancelling or modifying practices and games, or taking others to reduce the risk of heat illness, should be taken.

Extremely hot or humid weather may require that sports practices or games be modified or even cancelled because of the risk of heat illness. In deciding whether to do so, you should keep in mind that hot, dry weather can be extremely dangerous. Because sweat evaporates very quickly in such conditions, your child won't feel sweaty, and neither you nor your child may recognize how much water he or she has lost. As the relative humidity increases, the effectiveness of sweating in cooling the body also decreases. When the relative humidity is high, sweat drips off the skin so that the cooling benefit of evaporation is lost even at cooler temperatures, resulting in a build-up of body heat.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has developed a heat index chart parents and coaches can use to determine when heat and humidity have reached the point where athletes are at serious risk of heat illnesses, such as heat cramps, heat exhaustion or even heat stroke.