SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- With cars being able to heat up quickly under the summer sun, ABC57 Neighborhood Meteorologist Oliver Moster kept a watermelon in the car while he ran errands to see how hot it would get.
While a watermelon isn't a perfect approximation for a human, in the 24 minutes that he was inside conducting an interview, "Mel" the watermelon sat in a car that increased in temperature by about 10 degrees.
The surface temperature of the watermelon increased by around three degrees. If we apply those findings to what we know about our body's temperature, a three-degree increase would put us into the range of getting close to heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Combine that with the hot surroundings of being inside a car and you have a recipe for disaster.
Dr. Emma Dunfee from the South Bend Clinic says that 104 degrees is where the body starts to shut down, and the resting temperature is around 98 degrees. While Mel was in the car for 24 minutes, she increased half of that difference.
Leaving a child in a car is always dangerous, no matter how long, no matter what temperature outside, even if the windows are open and the AC is on. A local daycare is offering some relief from the heat.