A total of 18 people have died as a result of a period of extreme cold weather in New York City, its mayor has said. Since late January, the city has endured a cold snap, including 13 days of temperatures of 0°C (32°F) or below – one of the longest stretches of sub-zero weather New York has seen in six decades.
Over the weekend, another person 'lost their life on the streets of our city,' Zohran Mamdani said on Monday, adding that 'each life lost is a tragedy, and we will continue to hold their families in our thoughts.' While temperatures are set to rise this week, they remain below average, leading Mamdani to advise residents to 'stay safe, stay indoors... [and] keep looking out for one another.'
The mayor added that since 19 January, when a Code Blue emergency was announced, about 1,400 placements had been made into shelters. An additional 64 hotel rooms had been added to the city's shelter capacity, with at least 150 outreach workers on the streets, according to Mamdani.
On 27 January, he reported that at least 10 of the deaths were due to exposure outdoors, while the circumstances for the others remain unclear. 'We have been working hard to keep New Yorkers safe, and we will continue to do so,' Mamdani stated. Despite a forecast for temperatures to approach 0°C soon, safety precautions remain crucial with lingering hazardous conditions.
The US National Weather Service indicated the region faced dangerous wind chills over the weekend, maintaining risks of hypothermia and frostbite. This cold snap, among the longest since 1963, has had significant impacts on city life and safety, prompting urgent warnings from emergency agencies about the dangers of melting snow and ice which could exacerbate hazardous conditions.
Over the weekend, another person 'lost their life on the streets of our city,' Zohran Mamdani said on Monday, adding that 'each life lost is a tragedy, and we will continue to hold their families in our thoughts.' While temperatures are set to rise this week, they remain below average, leading Mamdani to advise residents to 'stay safe, stay indoors... [and] keep looking out for one another.'
The mayor added that since 19 January, when a Code Blue emergency was announced, about 1,400 placements had been made into shelters. An additional 64 hotel rooms had been added to the city's shelter capacity, with at least 150 outreach workers on the streets, according to Mamdani.
On 27 January, he reported that at least 10 of the deaths were due to exposure outdoors, while the circumstances for the others remain unclear. 'We have been working hard to keep New Yorkers safe, and we will continue to do so,' Mamdani stated. Despite a forecast for temperatures to approach 0°C soon, safety precautions remain crucial with lingering hazardous conditions.
The US National Weather Service indicated the region faced dangerous wind chills over the weekend, maintaining risks of hypothermia and frostbite. This cold snap, among the longest since 1963, has had significant impacts on city life and safety, prompting urgent warnings from emergency agencies about the dangers of melting snow and ice which could exacerbate hazardous conditions.
