POLOKWANE – Review decided to inform readers about the dangers thereof.
How hot can it get in a locked car?
Leaving your dog or child in the car during the summer (even when it doesn’t seem all that hot to you) is similar to putting them inside of an oven. The temperatures heat up so quickly that they becomes completely helpless when trapped inside the car on a hot day.
Heat stroke may occur when body temperature passes 40 ºC. Symptoms include severe thirst, weakness or disorientation, severe headache, nausea and vomiting, as well as muscle cramps and may lead to a lss of consciousness, and or death
On a 29 ºC day, it only takes 15 minutes for the inside of your car to reach 42 ºC, even with the windows left open an centimeter or two.
Within 30 minutes a car’s interior can reach 49 ºC. Even when the temperature outside is a pleasant 21 ºC the inside of your car may be as much as 20 degrees hotter. So imagine if the temperature outside is 39 ºC. Shade offers little protection on a hot day and moves with the sun.
Leaving the windows partially open is not enough. Parking in the shade won’t keep the car cool enough either.
If a child or pet is left in a car, how can I help:
• Take down the car’s make, model and license-plate number and report it to your local emergency service or SPCA. Wait by the car for them to arrive.
• If there are businesses nearby, notify their managers or security guards and ask them to make an announcement to find the car’s owner.
Veterinarian Dr. Ernie Ward put himself through an experiment so none of us ever have to feel the misery of being trapped inside a car on a hot summer day:
Youtube video via DrErnieWard
via webmd
