With summer around the corner, warm weather has returned to Milwaukee.
But that means even a quick errand often ends with returning to a scorching vehicle left baking in the hot sun. And it doesn’t need to be a heat wave for a vehicle to get dangerously hot.
Here’s more about what to avoid leaving inside a hot vehicle this summer.
How fast does my vehicle get hot in the summer?
A study by researchers at Arizona State University and the University of California at San Diego found cars parked in the sun can reach 116 degrees and the dashboard can hit more than 165 degrees in about an hour, USA TODAY reported.
Nancy Selover, an Arizona State University climatologist, said in a news release that the study “also makes clear that even parking a vehicle in the shade can be lethal to a small child.”
Heat stroke also moves quickly. The body can reach 106 degrees in 10 to 15 minutes during heat stroke, which can lead to permanent disability or death without emergency treatment, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
How to prevent hot car deaths
Children and pets should never be left unattended in a hot car. A total of 1,047 children have died in hot cars since 1998, according to noheatstroke.org.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration has several recommendations to prevent hot car deaths:
What items not to leave inside a hot vehicle
Here are some items to avoid leaving inside a hot vehicle:
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: As Wisconsin weather gets warmer, here’s what not to leave in a hot car
Reporting by Blaise Mesa, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
