Hot air temperatures bring even hotter surface temperatures. Ever sit in your car after it’s been parked for a few minutes in the hot sun and almost burn your skin as you slide into that hot black leather seat? Well, even outside a hot car, we have surfaces that heat up at dangerous temperatures.
It's an especially important issue for people taking kids out to enjoy the outdoors in heat waves like this.
Kids playing on playgrounds will encounter hot monkey bars with a metal surface reading at 150 degrees! For reference, hot coffee is served at 180.
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Here is how some other playground equipment heats up with an air temp of 84:
- Rubber turf: 158
- Plastic slide: 132
Outside our house or apartment building the pavement heats up fast too.
On a day like today, Hartford, Connecticut, had an afternoon temp of 95 degrees. Based on that reading, surfaces in the sun outside felt extremely hot:
- Grass: 105
- Concrete: 125
- Asphalt: 140
Anyone walking on asphalt barefoot in that heat would have their skin burn in 1 minute. Dog paws burn in 5 minutes on hot pavement that’s running at 120 degrees.
