Don't leave kids alone in cars or pools during Montreal heat wave: health officials

With a heat wave sweeping the Greater Montreal area this week, the Montreal Children's Hospital is reminding parents and guardians that it is never acceptable to leave a child in a car.

With a heat wave sweeping the Greater Montreal area this week, the Montreal Children's Hospital (MCH) is reminding parents and guardians that it is never acceptable to leave a child in a car.

"Every summer, the MCH emergency department treats more than 4,000 children and teens with assorted traumatic injuries, the majority of which are preventable," the hospital states.

Montreal public health officials are slated to address the heat wave at 3 p.m. Tuesday.

"Make certain that people are well hydrated," said Dr. Mitch Shulman, an emergency medicine specialist. "Don't forget your pets. Don't forget little children who really don't realize they need to be protected. The elderly, people with underlying heart or lung or kidney problems who are on certain medications; all of us are at risk but some people are at more risk than others."

With humidex values expected to exceed 40 for the next three days, the Montreal Children's Hospital points out that cars heat up quickly and leaving a window ajar does little to impact the temperature.

"On a 35 degree Celsius day, the air temperature in a previously air-conditioned small car exceeded 50 C within 20 minutes and the temperature soared to 65.5 C within 40 minutes," the hospital said pointing to a study funded by General Motors of Canada.

Infants and children under four years old are among those at greatest risk for heat-related illness, the hospital adds.