LINZ. “You can’t say it often enough: don’t leave children and animals in the car,” says Michael Osterkorn, ÖAMTC branch manager. Tragic accidents keep happening in the summer because people underestimate how hot it can get inside a vehicle. In northern Italy, a father forgot his daughter in the car in mid-July and the little girl died. In Upper Austria, the case of two German shepherds that are said to have died in the car box due to the heat made headlines.
- Read more: Father forgot little daughter in car in northern Italy – child died
“Leaving the window ajar doesn’t help”
Even at an outside temperature of 26 degrees, the temperature inside a car can reach 42 degrees after just half an hour. After an hour, it can even reach 52 degrees – temperatures like these are life-threatening. Leaving the window ajar doesn’t help, as Osterkorn stresses: “The air can’t circulate.” Don’t let the weather fool you either: “Clouds or the wind may cool the air a little, but the sun’s rays are still there.” If you park your car in the shade, don’t forget that the sun – and therefore the shadow – will move on.
Heat stroke can be fatal
If you find a child or an animal in a closed car, you must not break the window. “First you have to call the police,” says Osterkorn. The ÖAMTC is also called out to these operations time and again.
The first step is to check whether the person in the car is responsive, says Matthias Kölbl, head of the Elisabethinen emergency department: “If the child is already motionless, it becomes dangerous.” If it appears to be sleeping, every minute counts: “Then the emergency services must be alerted immediately.” Heat stroke can be fatal. “Our body temperature is around 37 degrees. The body tries to maintain this temperature by sweating,” says Kölbl. The body can only regulate excess heat to a limited extent: “As soon as it can no longer do this, the pulse begins to rise.” Blood pressure drops, dizziness, headaches and nausea occur. If the body temperature is above 41 degrees for a longer period of time, the situation becomes life-threatening. Children and pets are more at risk because their smaller body surface area means they are less able to dissipate heat.
- Also read: Two German Shepherds died in the Vöcklabruck district: circumstances still unclear
Self-experiment: A shady parking space is worth it
Wednesday, 1 p.m. The outside temperature in Linz is 24.6 degrees. In our black car we measure 25.5 degrees. For testing purposes, the car is parked in the sun. After 30 minutes, the temperature in the car has already risen significantly and reached 31.2 degrees – even though clouds keep passing through on this day. After 60 minutes, the measuring device shows 34.8 degrees. After an hour, it has become almost ten degrees warmer inside the car. For comparison purposes, we also measure the temperature inside a car that was parked in the shade. The starting temperature is the same at 25.5 degrees. After an hour, it has only become slightly warmer; the measuring device shows 1.7 degrees more.
- Read more: Why a tree is the better umbrella
Do black cars heat up faster?
A widespread myth says that black cars heat up more quickly than white ones. But that’s only partially true. The vehicle heats up mainly due to sunlight entering the interior through the windshield and side windows. Of course, the metal body also contributes to the car heating up. However, experts say the color has only a minor influence.
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