Not long ago we wrote about the dangers the hot weather brings, particularly when it comes to children and pets and vehicles. 

The recent spate of hot weather should serve as a reminder of the need to be mindful of kids and pets in cars this time of year.

According to noheatstroke.org, since 1998, 858 children have died from pediatric vehicular heatstroke across the country. There were 52 such deaths last year and so far there have been nine this year. In the first instance this year, the outside temperature was 78 degrees.

The tales from Consumer Reports are alarming. The magazine reports its findings show that even on a day when the temperature outside is 61 degrees, the temperature inside a closed car can reach 105 degrees in just one hour. 

For a child or a pet left in a car, that’s lethal.

Consumer Reports’ research also shows that shade isn’t much of a help. According to studies conducted by Arizona State University and the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, a 2-year-old’s core temperature can reach 104 degrees in just under two hours in a parked car in the shade. 

Maybe you think you’ll be getting into and out of an establishment quickly as you leave the kids or pets in the vehicle. Maybe you think they’ll be OK in the shade or with the windows rolled down.

That’s a dangerous way of thinking. 

The National Safety Council has a number of tips to help you think about who or what might be in the back seat.

The organization recommends making it a routine to open the back door of your car every time you park. You also can put something you need at your destination in the back seat so you will open the back door. You also can keep a stuffed animal in the front passenger seat as a reminder that there is a child in a child seat in the back.

The deaths of kids and pets in locked cars are preventable. Do your part to help prevent them.