A total of 18 people have died as a result of a period of extreme cold weather in New York City, the mayor said.
Since late January, the city has experienced a cold snap, including 13 days of temperatures of 0°C (32°F) or below - one of the longest periods 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 announced on Monday, adding that "every life lost is a tragedy and we will continue to keep their families in our thoughts."
While temperatures are expected to rise this week, they remain below average, with Mamdani telling residents to "stay safe, stay inside... [and] continue to look after each other."
The mayor added that since January 19, when a Code Blue emergency was declared - which eased admission policies for homeless shelters - about 1,400 placements had been made in shelters.
In addition, 64 additional hotel rooms were added to the city's shelter capacity, with at least 150 more field workers on the streets, Mamdani said.
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On January 27, Mamdani noted that at least 10 of the people who had died were found outside. The circumstances of the other deaths are unknown.
"We've been working hard to keep New Yorkers safe and we're going to continue to do that. Because it's not forecast to be above 32 degrees [Fahrenheit] until tomorrow, and that's not mild weather," he said.
The US National Weather Service (NWS) said temperatures will rise to around 0C for most of the week, following persistent freezing temperatures on Monday.
He added that maximum temperatures were normally around 4C at this time of year.
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A 13-day streak of temperatures at or below 0C - one of the longest streaks for New York City since 1963 - ended on Friday after temperatures briefly rose above 0C.
The New York City Emergency Management Agency indicated that subsequent days of extreme cold and snow posed serious safety risks throughout the city.
She warned that melting snow and ice could fall from buildings without warning and that roads and sidewalks could freeze again overnight. /Telegrafi/
