Nine children have been killed so far this month after they were left in hot cars parked up across America. The deaths mean that a child has been killed almost every other day in a sweltering vehicle through July.
The children were killed in the first 17 days of July, which saw record temperatures sweep the U.S. In Las Vegas where the mercury hit 120 degrees, a summer record, and conditions became so hot in New York that a swing bridge stuck open.
Rising summer temperatures can have a deadly impact on vulnerable people, with the Weather Channel reporting that a child has died in a hot car every other day so far this month.
The victims range in age from just two-months-old up to five-years-old, reports the site. Children under a year-old are reportedly most at risk of dying in hot cars, and they are most at risk during the month of July when temperatures often reach their peak.
The nine deaths so far this month bring the total number of deaths in hot cars up to 14 for 2024 so far, reports the National Safety Council. As the NSC reports:
The number of child hot car deaths for 2023 was 29. So far in 2024, 14 deaths have been reported. On average, 37 children under the age of 15 die each year from heatstroke after being left in a vehicle. Nearly every state has experienced at least one death since 1998. In both 2018 and 2019 a record number of 53 children died after being left in a hot vehicle.
Now, further warnings are being issued about the dangers of leaving children in hot cars as global temperatures continue to creep ever higher each year.
As well as not leaving your children alone in a hot car, safety experts recommend taking a few simple steps to ensure you don’t do it accidentally. They suggest putting something like your bag on the back seat so you have another important thing back there that you won’t forget when hopping out a parked car. They also suggest chatting or singing with your young kids while driving to ensure you never forget that they’re back there.
Sadly, children dying in hot cars isn’t a new issue that’s facing American parents. Last year, three children were killed in just one week after being left in hot cars, and another baby had to be saved from a rapidly warming car by onlookers who smashed their way in.