Drivers must remove 4 items from car on Saturday

Warm weather is set to finally blast Britain in a matter of days but drivers should beware of leaving four items at the mercy of rocketing temperatures. If the outside mercury is reading 27 or 28C, like it could be according to weather forecasts for May 23 onwards, then the inside temperature of the car can soar to 40C, even 50C, if it is exposed to direct sunlight.

The Met Office, and weather map forecasters WXCharts, both predict welcome hot conditions for much of the south and east of England over the Spring Bank Holiday. The Midlands and Wales should also see conditions hovering around the mid-20s.

But the stark temperature difference caused by the greenhouse like interior of cars can become a problem. Everyone should already know not to leave children or pets in cars during hot weather, but there are also some simple items which can become a concern.

Water

First is bottled water. It’s easy to accidentally leave bottled water in the car after a long day, but as temperatures rise, chemicals from the plastic bottle can leach into the water, making it less safe to drink, especially if it’s a specific type of plastic usually used in reusable bottles. In some extreme cases, even single-use water bottles can magnify sunlight and could cause a fire inside a car. The best course of action is to take the bottle out of the car to keep the car safe and the water tasting normal.

Medicine

Second is medicine. You may not realise, but most typical over-the-counter medicines like paracetamol, Calpol and other painkillers have a maximum temperature at which they stay safe. If you leave a packet of painkillers in a hot car, they may stop working as well or become ineffective completely.

In fact, most commercial painkillers and medicines are only rated to withstand temperatures up to 25C, which means you could even end up making yourself feel worse. During hot weather weeks like this, it’s strongly advised that people store some medicines in the fridge.

Sun cream

Sun cream, also known as sun block or sunscreen, or even sun tan lotion, is another issue when left in a hot car. It can go off inside the bottle and could even explode due to the pressure in the heat. It’s advised to treat it like out of date sun cream and replace it.

Batteries

Finally, batteries. This could be a battery pack, a vape with a rechargeable battery, or simply packs of batteries for an emergency kit like a torch and radio, which many drivers keep in the boot. Batteries are unsafe to keep in very hot conditions, as they could explode and leak battery acid, or catch fire if used when red hot.

The Met Office forecast for the Spring Bank Holiday weekend shows highs of 27C in some parts of the country, and maps from WXCharts show spikes of 28C in and around London.

The Met Office forecast covering the weekend states Friday May 22 is likely to see temperatures rise further and are likely to see the warmest day of the year so far, with a peak of 28°C possible in the southeast of England.

Met Office Deputy Chief Forecaster Tony Wisson said: “The weather later this week will feel like a marked contrast from recent days, with warm, fine and settled weather for many. While the warmth will persist through the Bank Holiday weekend, conditions will turn more unsettled later Friday and into Saturday, with a mix of cloud, showers and longer spells of rain.

“There is also the chance of thundery rain in places. Nonetheless, temperatures should remain warm or very warm through Saturday and into Sunday, with highs around 26°C in the south across the weekend and into next week.”