CAINHOY — The first football practice of the season had just begun for the Iron Horses, and the temperature already was at an uncomfortable level. It was 9 a.m. Aug. 1, at the tail end of a brutal heatwave, and the Philip Simmons High School practice field was hovering around 90 degrees.

Keri Carmack stood on the sideline holding an orange wet bulb gauge in her hand. As the program’s athletic trainer, she’s tasked with deciding whether to call things off because of the heat.

“I’m the bad guy, usually,” she joked. “I have to give the bad news.”

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The Post and Courier’s Rising Waters Lab focuses on impacts of climate change and related policies and practices. It is supported by donations and grants to the nonprofit Public Service and Investigative Fund, whose contributors

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