""Cars parked in direct sunlight can reach internal
temperatures up to 131° F - 172° F (55° C – 78° C) when
outside temperatures are 80° F – 100° F (27° C – 38°
C)." 27 Even outside temperatures in the 60s can cause a
car temperature to rise well above 110° F. When the
outside temperature is 83° F, even with the window
rolled down 2 inches, the temperature inside the car can
reach 109° F in only 15 minutes. "Within the first 10
minutes the temperature in an enclosed vehicle will rise
an average of 19 degrees or 82 percent of its eventual
one hour rise." 28 In warm weather, a vehicle can warm
to dangerous, life-threatening levels in only 10 minutes.
Very young children (age 4 and under) are particularly
susceptible to hyperthermia. According to the Medical
College of Wisconsin,
Children's bodies have greater surface area to body mass
ratio, so they absorb more heat on a hot day (and lose
heat more rapidly on a cold day). Further, children have
a considerably lower sweating capacity than adults, and
so they are less able to dissipate body heat by
evaporative sweating and cooling.29
The Centers for Disease Control report that very high
body temperatures can cause damage to the brain and
other vital organs, as well as heat stroke and death.
"Heatstroke occurs when the body temperature reaches
104 degrees Fahrenheit;" 30 essentially, "the body
becomes unable to control its temperature: the body's
temperature rises rapidly, the sweating mechanism fails,
and the body is unable to cool down. Body temperature
may rise to 106 degrees F or higher within 10 to 15
minutes." 31 A "body temperature of 107 degrees is...'"
http://www.nhtsa.gov/people/injury/enforce/childrenandcars/pages/unattend-hotcars.htm
