<p><br /> Deaths in Moscow have doubled and are now averaging 700 people a day amid a sweltering heat wave and poisonous smog from wildfires.<br /> </p><p><br /> Moscow health chief Andrei Seltsovky blamed weeks of unprecedented heat and suffocating smog for the rise in mortality compared to the same time last year.<br /> </p><p><br /> He said city mortuaries are nearly overflowing, with 1,300 bodies, close to their capacity.<br /> </p><p><br /> Acrid smog blanketed Moscow for a sixth straight day on Monday, with concentrations of carbon monoxide and other poisonous substances two or three times higher than what is considered safe.<br /> </p><p><br /> Those airborne pollutants reached a record over the weekend - exceeding the safe limit by nearly seven times.<br /> </p><p><br /> About 550 separate blazes were burning nationwide on Monday, mainly across western Russia, including about 40 around Moscow.<br /> </p>
