[Anchor]

Vehicles heat up very quickly in weather like this. Casually leaving auxiliary batteries or lighters inside a car can lead to a major fire.

Reporter Kwon Min-kyu tested just how hot a car gets amid a heatwave.

[Reporter]

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

On the afternoon of June 15 last year, a battery exposed to high temperatures and sunlight suddenly exploded inside a vehicle parked at an elementary school in Gukwu-dong, Daegu.

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

Summer vehicle fires have increased every year, recording 1,354 cases last year, with over 900 cases already reported this year.

We conducted a direct experiment to see how quickly the interior of a car heats up during 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), exceeded a staggering 80°C (176°F) after just two hours.

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

The current time is 4 p.m.

If we measure the temperature of the dashboard right now, it comes out to nearly 80°C (176°F).

In weather like this, it would be more surprising if lighters or auxiliary batteries left inside a car did not explode.

Tinted vehicles are just as susceptible to the heat.

[Kim Hyo-in / Senior Researcher, Korea Transportation Safety Authority: During the summer, because outside temperatures are high, it has been confirmed that fires occur about 10% to 20% more frequently. Lighters and butane gas, which have the potential to explode, must not be left unattended inside cars.]

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

They recommend leaving the windows open by 1 to 2 centimeters or installing a sunshade when parking for extended periods.

(Photo courtesy of Yonhap News / Reported by Seol Chi-hwan, Video by Kim Jong-tae, Design by Lee Ga-jin)