Leaving children in hot cars can be lethal in just minutes

KGO logo
Wednesday, July 25, 2018
How hot can the inside of a car get in 10 minutes?
Meteorologist Elita Loresca takes a look at how fast temperatures can rise in a vehicle.

We've all heard the devastating stories about children dying after they've been left inside a parked car on a hot day. According to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), 700 children left in cars died from heatstroke from 1998 to 2016. And of those deaths, 376 were children "forgotten" by a caregiver.

But, researchers at Stanford say that "even on a relatively cool day, the temperature inside a parked car can quickly spike to life-threatening levels if the sun is out."

Here's a look at just how hot it can get:

  • When it's 70 degrees outside it can get to 89 degrees inside after 10 minutes and 104 after 30 minutes
  • When it's 75 degrees outside it can get to 94 degrees inside after 10 minutes and 109 after 30 minutes
  • When it's 80 degrees outside it can get to 99 degrees inside after 10 minutes and 114 after 30 minutes
  • When it's 85 degrees outside it can get to 104 degrees inside after 10 minutes and 119 after 30 minutes
  • When it's 90 degrees outside it can get to 109 degrees inside after 10 minutes and 124 after 30 minutes
  • When it's 95 degrees outside it can get to 114 degrees inside after 10 minutes and 129 after 30 minutes