Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Heat Wave, Smog Double Moscow's Daily Death Rate VOA News 09 August 2010 Photo: AP Tourists wear protective face masks as they walk along the Red square in thick smog, with Saint Basil's Cathedral partially visible in the back, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Aug. 6, 2010. The city of Moscow was shrouded Friday by a dense smog that grounded flights at international airports and seeped into homes and offices, as wildfires that have killed 50 people nationwide continued to burn. A Russian health official says deaths in Moscow have almost doubled to 700 a day as the Russian capital suffers a third week of scorching heat and poisonous smog from wildfires. Moscow health department chief Andrei Seltsovsky said Monday the daily death rate in the city has surged from an average of 360 to 380 deaths under what he called "normal conditions." Some city morgues are overflowing with bodies. The concentration of carbon monoxide and other pollutants in Moscow's air exceeded the safe limit by almost seven times on Saturday and Sunday. The figure moderated Monday to a range of two to three times acceptable levels. Russia's state weather service described the heat wave affecting Moscow and other parts of the country as possibly the worst in a millennium. Daily high temperatures have reached up to 38 degrees Celsius compared to the usual summer average of 24 degrees. Health experts said the combined effect of smog and heat poses a danger to people with heart and lung problems and risks aggravating other health conditions. Muscovites were leaving the city in record numbers. Aviation officials said more than 104,000 passengers left Moscow's three major airports on Sunday. Travel agents said package tours for vacation spots popular with Russians, such as Egypt and Turkey, were sold out. Forest and peat bog fires near Moscow have covered the city with a yellowish smoke that residents find almost impossible to escape. Thousands of Russian firefighters have been fighting hundreds of wildfires nationwide. The blazes have killed at least 52 people. Forecasters said they do not expect temperatures to moderate until next week. Some information for this report was provided by AFP and Reuters. .