Here’s the thing nobody really talks about: a car sitting in the sun isn’t just warm. It becomes an oven. Fast.
A Stanford Medicine study published in the journal Pediatrics found that a car’s interior heats up by an average of 40 degrees Fahrenheit within an hour — regardless of what the temperature is outside. So if it’s a perfectly pleasant 70-degree day, the inside of that car can hit 110 degrees. That’s not uncomfortable. That’s dangerous.
And it doesn’t take an hour to become a problem. The temperature climbs fast in the first few minutes, which is exactly when people think they’re safe because they’re only running in “real quick.”
The National Weather Service warns that hyperthermia — when the body absorbs more heat than it can handle — can happen even on mild days in the 70s. Kids and pets are especially vulnerable because their smaller bodies have less ability to regulate heat than adults.
Every year, dozens of children die this way. Not from freak accidents. From a quick errand that took a little longer than expected.
Cracking a window doesn’t fix it. Parking in the shade helps a little, but not enough to make it safe. If you’ve got a younger sibling, a cousin, or a pet in the car — they come with you. Every single time.