Left in Car Carelessly, It Explodes... Reaches a Scorching 80°C in Just Two Hours

[Anchor]

If you park your car outside during heatwaves like these, the interior quickly turns into a steam bath. Leaving auxiliary batteries or lighters inside by mistake can lead to major fires.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu put this to the test.

[Reporter]

A large hole is blown through the leather of the passenger seat, and the inside of the seat is charred black.

On the afternoon of June 15, a battery exposed to high heat and sunlight suddenly exploded inside a car parked at an elementary school in Guku-dong, Daegu.

In Mokpo back in 2023, a lighter left inside a vehicle exploded, leaving the occupant with second-degree burns.

Vehicle fires in the summer increase every year, reaching 1,354 cases last year, with already over 900 cases recorded this year.

We tested firsthand just how quickly the interior of a car heats up in the summer.

At 1 p.m., when the sunlight is hottest, the interior temperature of the car, which was already nearing 40°C (104°F), soared past a whopping 80°C (176°F) in just two hours.

The thermometer installed inside the car stopped working, unable to withstand the heat, and a candle placed next to it melted away.

It is currently 4 p.m.

Measuring the temperature of the dashboard right now, it reads nearly 80°C (176°F).

In weather like this, leaving lighters or auxiliary batteries inside a car makes it more unusual for them not to explode.

Tinted vehicles are just as hot.

[Kim Hyo-in / Senior Researcher, Korea Transportation Safety Authority: Since outside temperatures are high in the summer, it has been confirmed that fires occur about 10% to 20% more frequently. Lighters and butane gas canisters, which carry a risk of explosion, should not be left unattended inside cars.]

Experts advise that you can mitigate the temperature rise to some extent by parking so that the rear window, which has a narrow surface area and a large reflection angle, faces away from the sun.

When parking for long periods, it is recommended to leave the windows open by 1 to 2 centimeters or install a sunshade.

(Reported by Seol Chi-hwan | Video edited by Kim Jong-tae | Design by Lee Ga-jin)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.