The New York City medical examiner says four people died of hyperthermia during the punishing heat wave last week.
The medical examiner's office said a 78-year-old man in Brooklyn and an 81-year-old woman in Manhattan died of hyperthermia on Friday, the sixth day of the heat wave. The National Weather Service says the air temperature reached 96 degrees in Central Park that day, but the humidity made it feel like the triple digits.
An 88-year-old Staten Island man and an 83-year-old Bronx woman died on Saturday. The temperature reached 93 degrees in New York City on that day, according to meteorologists.
It wasn't clear if any of the elderly victims suffered from any underlying health condition.
Forecasters called Friday the most dangerous day of the heat wave, which lasted a week and was the longest heat wave in more than a decade.
An excessive heat warning was in effect for the city, with officials warning that fatigue, sunstroke, muscle cramps, heat exhaustion or heatstroke were possible for those who spend time outdoors.
Con Edison said electricity usage reached an all-time high Friday in its service area.
The first heat-related fatality in the city happened earlier in the month, when a 57-year-old Staten Island man died of hyperthermia on July 8, according to the medical examiner's office. The temperature in the city reached 89 degrees that day. The three prior days had all seen temperatures above 90 degrees.
