A 20-month-old girl died in Schorndorf, Baden-Württemberg, on a day when outside temperatures reached 30°C, after her 44-year-old mother left her in a parked car and forgot her. Emergency services were unable to revive the child. German police have opened an investigation and are awaiting autopsy results to determine the precise cause of death.

Measurements by the Swiss animal-welfare organisation PETA Switzerland show that a parked car acts as a greenhouse: at an outside temperature of just 20°C, the interior reaches 24°C after five minutes, 36°C after half an hour, and 46°C after one hour. At 30°C, the 45°C mark is crossed within 30 minutes. Slightly open windows have virtually no cooling effect. The German automobile club ADAC notes that at 30°C outside, the interior can hit 56°C in an hour. Children are physiologically more vulnerable: their body surface-to-volume ratio causes them to heat three to five times faster than adults, and their sweat glands are not fully developed. Dogs and cats lack sweat glands almost entirely, relying on panting, which becomes ineffective once the ambient temperature exceeds roughly 40°C.

The Schorndorf case fits a pattern known in psychology as 'Forgotten Baby Syndrome', a rare but documented lapse of prospective memory. Medical advice from Indonesia, where heatstroke in children is a growing concern during the dry season, stresses that parents often mistake heatstroke for ordinary fever, delaying critical cooling. Dr Siti Rizki Fauziah, a family medicine specialist in Jakarta, advises immediate relocation to a cool place, removal of layered clothing, and sponging with cool water on areas with large blood vessels—neck, armpits, groin—while awaiting emergency transport. For pets, German veterinary guidance warns against leaving cats in stationary vehicles and recommends constant access to fresh water, shaded retreats, and cooling mats. Outdoor safety guidance in the United States similarly cautions hikers to distinguish heat exhaustion (heavy sweating, dizziness, nausea) from heatstroke (confusion, slurred speech, body temperature above 104°F), which requires emergency intervention.

The autopsy in the Schorndorf case is expected to clarify whether hyperthermia was the sole cause. Meanwhile, seasonal heat warnings are in effect across central Europe and parts of Asia, with meteorologists forecasting further high-temperature days. Public-safety campaigns continue to emphasise that no child or pet should ever be left unattended in a parked vehicle, regardless of window position or expected absence duration.