Batut warns: a sunny parked car turns deadly in ten minutes
Serbia's public health institute Batut warns parents never to leave children in a parked car, as the cabin heats to 40 or 50 degrees in just ten minutes even with the windows open.
- On June 22, Batut warned that children should never be left in a parked car in the sun.
- Even with the windows open, the cabin temperature climbs to 40 degrees in ten minutes when it is 25 outside, and to 50 when it is 35.
- Children overheat three to five times faster than adults, so even a minute of inattention can be dangerous.
How dangerous is it to leave your child in the car for a moment while you grab some bread? Far more dangerous than most parents think. On June 22, Serbia’s Institute of Public Health “Dr Milan Jovanovic Batut” issued a clear warning: children, and pets too, should never be left in a parked car in the sun, not even for a few minutes.
The reason comes down to physics we cannot cheat. A car in the sun works like a greenhouse. Sunlight passes through the windows and heats the seats and dashboard, which then radiate that heat back into the trapped air. The cycle speeds up in the very first minutes, and that is where the danger hides from plain sight.
How fast does a car heat up in the sun?
Faster than it takes you to get back from the shop. According to Batut, even when the windows are partly open the cabin temperature can climb to 40 degrees in just ten minutes if it is 25 outside, and to 50 degrees when the outside temperature is 35. That means even an ordinary summer day, one that feels bearable to us, becomes a recipe for overheating inside a parked car.
What makes it more serious is that children are not small adults. Their bodies overheat three to five times faster than an adult’s. A small child cannot take off clothing, cannot open the door, and cannot call for help. So the rule has no exceptions: your child leaves the car with you, every single time.
A practical first-hand tip: leave your phone, bag or keys on the back seat, next to the child seat. The habit forces you to turn toward the back before you lock up and walk away. A small step, but one that genuinely works in everyday use.
How do you recognise heatstroke in a child?
The signs appear faster than we would expect, so they are worth knowing by heart. Batut lists the symptoms of heatstroke in a child as irritability, weakness, disorientation and vomiting, and in severe cases convulsions and loss of consciousness. If a child suddenly goes limp, confused or starts vomiting after time in the heat, this is not a moment to wait.
First aid, step by step, looks like this. Move the child to a cooler, ventilated place straight away. Place cold compresses on the neck, groin and under the arms, where large blood vessels run, so the body cools faster. Offer fluids if the child is conscious and able to drink. And most important: if the condition worsens, take the child to the nearest medical facility at once or call emergency services.
The same rules apply to pets. A dog shut inside a car in the sun faces the same danger, if not a greater one, because it cools itself almost entirely by panting.
Our recommendation ahead of this summer is simple and unromantic: treat a car parked in the sun as a place where a child must never be left alone, not even for a second. Before you set off, glance at the back seat. And when you spot someone else’s child or dog alone in a hot car, would you know how to react in time?
