Multiple young children across the country have died in July after being left in hot cars amid an ongoing, record-smashing heat wave that has blanketed much of the U.S. in recent weeks.
The incidents include a 2-year-old in New York, a 2-month-old in New Jersey, a 5-year-old in Nebraska, and a 2-year-old in Arizona, who all died over the past week, according to the advocacy group Kids and Car Safety. Overall, at least 12 hot car deaths involving children have occurred nationwide so far in 2024.
Higher-than-usual temperatures have put millions of Americans under heat alert this summer and local officials have repeatedly warned residents of the dangerous effects of extreme heat. These high temperatures can be a health concern, especially for vulnerable populations, and put children at risk.
Safety experts have said temperatures in a vehicle can rapidly increase — rising to 20 degrees within the first 10 minutes — which can lead to potentially deadly incidents. Children who are left unattended in parked vehicles are at the “greatest risk for heat stroke, and possibly death,” according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
On average, about 40 children die from heat stroke in a car each year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said. Since 1990, more than 1,090 children have died in hot cars across the U.S., according to data collected by Kids and Car Safety.
“Approximately 88% of children who die in hot cars are age 3 or younger and the majority…
