Every year, hundreds of pets die from heat exhaustion because they are left in parked vehicles.
The temperature inside your vehicle can rise almost 20º F in just 10 minutes. In 20 minutes, it can rise almost 30º F...and the longer you wait, the higher it goes. At 60 minutes, the temperature in your vehicle can be more than 40 degrees higher than the outside temperature. Even on a 70-degree day, that's 110 degrees inside your vehicle!
Your vehicle can quickly reach a temperature that puts your pet at risk of serious illness and even death, even on a day that doesn't seem hot to you. And cracking the windows makes no difference.
Want numbers? An independent study showed that the interior temperature of vehicles parked in outside temperatures ranging from 72 to 96º F rose steadily as time increased. Another study, performed by the Louisiana Office of Public Health, found that the temperatures in a dark sedan as well as a light gray minivan parked on a hot, but partly cloudy day, exceeded 125oF within 20 minutes.
| Elapsed time | Outside Air Temperature (F) | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 | |
| 0 minutes | 70 | 75 | 80 | 85 | 90 | 95 |
| 10 minutes | 89 | 94 | 99 | 104 | 109 | 114 |
| 20 minutes | 99 | 104 | 109 | 114 | 119 | 124 |
| 30 minutes | 104 | 109 | 114 | 119 | 124 | 129 |
| 40 minutes | 108 | 113 | 118 | 123 | 128 | 133 |
| 50 minutes | 111 | 116 | 121 | 126 | 131 | 136 |
| 60 minutes | 113 | 118 | 123 | 128 | 133 | 138 |
| > 1 hour | 115 | 120 | 125 | 130 | 135 | 140 |
