10 Aug 2010 10:28

Death rate increases 1.5 times in Moscow in July

MOSCOW. Aug 10 (Interfax) - Moscow's death rate increased 1.5 times in July, compared to July 2009, due to abnormally high temperatures.

Overall, 14,340 deaths and 11,477 births were recorded in Moscow in July 2010, compared to 9,516 deaths and 10,837 births a year earlier, the Moscow registry office told Interfax on Tuesday.

"Positive demographic trends were observed in Moscow in the second quarter of 2010 with 28,600 deaths and 30,300 births. But in July the death rate topped the birth rate," a spokesman for the registry office said.

Moscow's chief health official Andrei Seltsovsky said on Monday that Moscow's mortality rate has doubled due to the current heat.