National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office

Beat the Heat, Check the Backseat! A quick check could save your child's life!

The following information is from the NWS Heat Safety website. The San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences and Golden Gate Weather Services have additional information about hyperthemia deaths of children in vehicles (use of this website does not imply NWS endorsement of services provided by Golden Gate Weather Services).

The Hazards of Excessive Heat

When the body heats too quickly to cool itself safely, or when you lose too much fluid or salt through dehydration or sweating, your body temperature rises and heat-related illness may develop. Heat disorders share one common feature: the individual has been in the heat too long or exercised too much for his or her age and physical condition.

Studies indicate that, other things being equal, the severity of heat disorders tends to increase with age. Conditions that cause heat cramps in a 17-year-old may result in heat exhaustion in someone 40 years old, and in heat stroke in a person over 60. Sunburn, with its ultraviolet radiation burns, can significantly retard the skin's ability to shed excess heat. Acclimatization has to do with adjusting sweat-salt concentrations, among other things. The idea is to lose enough water to regulate body temperature, with the least possible chemical disturbance--salt depletion.

Children, Adults and Pets Enclosed in Parked Vehicles are at Great Risk

Each year, dozens of children left in parked vehicles die from hyperthermia. Hyperthermia is an acute condition that occurs when the body absorbs more heat than it can handle. Hyperthermia can occur even on a mild day. Studies have shown that the temperature inside a parked vehicle can rapidly rise to a dangerous level for children, pets and even adults. Leaving the windows slightly open does not significantly decrease the heating rate. The effects can be more severe on children because their bodies warm at a faster rate than adults.

Graph courtesy of San Francisco State University Department of Geosciences and Golden Gate Weather Services.  Use of this graph does not imply NWS endorsement of services provided by Golden Gate Weather Services.

Shown below is a time lapse photo of a thermometer reading in a car over a period of less than an hour. As the photograph shows, in just over 2 minutes the car went from a safe temperature to 94.3°F. These photos demonstrate just how quickly a vehicle can become a death trap for a child.

Objects Heated by the Sun Warm Vehicle's Air

CLICK HERE FOR ANIMATION (700K)
( Hi-Res ~ 2.5 mb.WMV file)
Individual Frames:
0 min, 10 min, 20 min, 30 min, 40 min, 50 min, 60 min
Animation Courtesy of General Motors and Golden Gate Weather Services. Use of this animation does not imply NWS endorsement of services provided by General Motors and Golden Gate Weather Services.

Hyperthermia deaths aren't confined to summer months. They also happen during the spring and fall. Below are some examples.

• Honolulu, HI, March 07, 2007: A 3-year-old girl died when the father left her in a child seat for 1.5 hours while he visited friends in a Waikiki apartment building. The outside temperature was only 81 degrees.
• North Augusta, SC, April 2006: A mother left her a 15-month-old son in a car. He was in a car for 9 hours while his mom went to work. She is now serving a 20-year prison sentence.
• Denver, CO, August 2008: Two kids that died in an overheated car may have been on their own for more than 3 hours as their mother slept after working a night shift. The kids died in a closed but unlocked car. Investigators believe the temperature in the car may have reached 123°F.

Adults are in danger too. On July 12, 2001, a man died of heatstroke after falling asleep in his car with the windows rolled up in the parking lot of a supermarket in Hinds County, MS.

How Fast Can the Sun Heat a Car?

The atmosphere and the windows of a car are relatively transparent to the sun’s shortwave radiation (yellow in figure below) and are warmed little. This shortwave energy, however, does heat objects it strikes. For example, a dark dashboard or seat can easily reach temperatures in the range of 180°F to more than 200°F. These objects, e.g., dashboard, steering wheel, childseat, heat the adjacent air by conduction and convection and give off longwave radiation (infrared), which efficiently warms the air trapped inside a vehicle.

Heat Safety

Child Safety Tips

• Make sure your child's safety seat and safety belt buckles aren't too hot before securing your child in a safety restraint system, especially when your car has been parked in the heat.
• Never leave your child unattended in a vehicle, even with the windows down.
• Teach children not to play in, on, or around cars.
• Always lock car doors and trunks--even at home--and keep keys out of children's reach.
• Always make sure all children have left the car when you reach your destination. Don't leave sleeping infants in the car ever!

Adult Heat Wave Safety Tips

• Slow down. Reduce, eliminate or reschedule strenuous activities until the coolest time of the day. Children, seniors and anyone with health problems should stay in the coolest available place, not necessarily indoors.
• Dress for summer. Wear lightweight, light-colored clothing to reflect heat and sunlight.
• Put less fuel on your inner fires. Foods, like meat and other proteins that increase metabolic heat production also increase water loss.
• Drink plenty of water, non-alcoholic and decaffeinated fluids. Your body needs water to keep cool. Drink plenty of fluids even if you don't feel thirsty. Persons who have epilepsy or heart, kidney or liver disease, are on fluid restrictive diets or have a problem with fluid retention should consult a physician before increasing their consumption of fluids. Do not drink alcoholic beverages and limit caffeinated beverages.
• During excessive heat periods, spend more time in air-conditioned places. Air conditioning in homes and other buildings markedly reduces danger from the heat. If you cannot afford an air conditioner, go to a library, store or other location with air conditioning for part of the day.
• Don't get too much sun. Sunburn reduces your body's ability to dissipate heat.
• Do not take salt tablets unless specified by a physician.