In August 2019, 16-year-old high school junior Imani Bell collapsed while doing drills outside with her basketball team in sweltering 90-degree heat. She died of heatstroke. Bell’s father told CBS News, she was revived twice. But her “body was so hot that it went right back into cardiac arrest.”
2019, the year Imani died, was the second-hottest year on record. Fast forward four years and 2023 is on track to be the hottest in recorded history.
Why does this matter? Because heat is no longer just an inconvenience. Extreme heat can lead to death — especially for young athletes.
June 2023 was the warmest June on record for the globe, according to the National Centers for Environmental Information. With the wildfires in Canada, record-low sea ice, and tropical storms impacting the globe — the earth is experiencing devastating climate change. States such as Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and California are enduring heatwaves of unprecedented magnitude.