Never Leave These Items in Your Car During a Heatwave

As Europe grapples with its first major heatwave of the season, drivers are being urged to exercise caution and remove specific items from their vehicles to prevent dangerous situations. The intense summer heat can transform parked cars into ovens, posing risks far beyond mere discomfort.

One common item, sunglasses, famously caused a car fire in Nottinghamshire, UK, when left on the dashboard. Fire services warn that reflective objects can concentrate sunlight, acting like a magnifying glass. This concentrated light can ignite flammable materials like plastic, paper, or fabric, underscoring the need to keep sunglasses out of direct sun.

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Reflective objects, like glasses, must not be exposed to direct sunlight. Sunlight passing through the glass can act like a magnifying glass and, in the worst case, ignite materials like plastic, paper, or fabric.

Beyond sunglasses, a range of everyday items can become hazardous. Aerosol cans, such as sunscreen or insect repellent, face increased internal pressure in high temperatures, risking explosion. Medications, including crucial ones like insulin or inhalers, can lose efficacy or become unsafe when exposed to extreme heat. Sunscreen itself degrades, while plastic water bottles can leach harmful chemicals and bacteria into the water.

Experts also highlight risks associated with food and drinks, which spoil rapidly, and pressurized cans that may swell or burst. Even seemingly innocuous items like lighters and matches present a significant fire hazard. For essential documents, the heat can cause paper to deform and ink to fade, potentially compromising their integrity. Electronic devices with lithium-ion batteries are particularly vulnerable, with risks of overheating, swelling, or even ignition.

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Parts of a parked car can heat up very quickly to over 100 degrees Celsius, even if the windows are open.