On average, 37 children in the United States die from Pediatric Vehicular Heatstroke (PVH) each year. It only takes 10 minutes for a human or animal to become miserably hot. According to Jan Null at the Department of Meteorology & Climate Science at San Jose State University, in 2023 there were 29 PVH deaths and so far as of this June, there were three PVH deaths.
Since 1998, there were a total of 972 children that died from a heat stroke in a vehicle and each of the deaths were preventable. What is worse is that 52% of the children died because someone forgot about them. 20% of people left the children unattended and knew they were leaving the child in the vehicle! Almost 25% of the children gained access to the car on their own. The remaining percent is for reasons unknown. The deaths have reportedly ranged from five days old to 14 years old, since 1998 to 2023. More than half were children under the age of two.
According to data provided by Null, Tennessee is ranked 10th in the US for the most PVH deaths since 1998, with 32 deaths. Texas was ranked 1st with 142 PVH deaths since 1998. Everyone is at risk of having a heat stroke in a hot car. Adults over the age of 65 are more at risk as well as people with existing medical issues, but also those who don’t have access to an air conditioner. Stay hydrated, drink more water than usual, wear light colors, avoid direct sunlight, and remind others to stay hydrated. Visit ready.gov/heat for more heat safety.
Written June 20th, 2024
