"LOS ANGELES -- Four people, including a homeless person and two hikers, have died from the record-breaking heat in the U.S. Southwest, media reports said, where triple-digit temperatures have driven residents indoors and canceled airline flights.

The first two fatalities recorded in the three-day heatwave took place on Monday in Santa Clara County, California, south of San Francisco, and included a homeless person found in a car, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

The victims were identified only as a 72-year-old man and an 87-year-old woman.

'It is tragic when someone dies of hyperthermia since in most every case it could have been prevented,' Dr. Michelle Jorden of the Santa Clara County Coroner’s Office told the newspaper."

Dan Whitcomb reports for Reuters June 22, 2017. [2]

SEE ALSO:

"95-Degree Days: How Extreme Heat Could Spread Across the World" (New York Times) [3]