Children are too precious to be left unattended

The tragic death of a three-year-old Yemeni boy in Ras Al Khaimah last Friday underscores a deadly menace that sadly occurs all too often. Children cannot and should not be left alone in a vehicle at any time and particularly during the summer months.

According to police, parents who fail to remove children from parked vehicles are being negligent. Why? Simply because parked vehicles act as ovens. While the outside temperature may only be 32 degrees Celsius — quite low given the temperature variances across the region during the summer — inside the vehicle, it is a totally different story.

Scientific analysis shows that even after just 10 minutes, the inside of a car heats up to 42 degrees. After 30 minutes, the car interior is at 51 degrees. And after 90 minutes, it is a stifling 59 degrees. These searing temperatures are also all the more dangerous given that young children cannot cool off as easily as adults and heat is all the more damaging on their young bodies.

The lesson is that children are precious and cannot be left alone. It is, after all, a matter of life or a sad and painful death.