From Friday night lights to the NFL, temperatures on the gridiron are rising and the impacts are being felt.
What comes to mind when you think of football season?
Cool days, crisp nights, knit hats and scarfs, maybe a parka? You may want to call an audible and revise your game-day wardrobe to include more flip-flops, shorts and t-shirts because football season is getting a lot warmer.
Since 1940, Philadelphia has seen an increase of 4.8 degrees during the four football months from September to December. According to Climate Central, an independent climate study organization, our fall temperatures will continue to climb, which leads experts to throw a penalty flag.
With greater heat:
• There is concern the players will tire more easily, leading to more injuries.
• Both players and fans will face higher chances of Heat Exhaustion and Heat Stroke.
• The changing climate means the turf on the playing field may need costly adaptations in the future.
Players from high school to college teams to the NFL will all feel the impacts of the changing climate. Any perception that cold weather teams like our Eagles have an edge over visiting warm-weather teams is melting away. Snowy scenes will become much less frequent.
By the way, when the Eagles take on the Lions this Sunday, our weather will already be in the red zone with temperatures in the upper 80’s … a full ten degrees above average.
