"The summer of 1896 saw the deadliest heat wave in New York City history. Circumstances both atmospheric and political contributed to the deaths of approximately 1,500 New Yorkers, many of them on the Lower East Side, during a ten day heat wave. The Mayor failed to call a meeting to address the situation until the tenth and final day. Beginning Tuesday, August 4th officials recorded steamy highs of around 87 degrees, but this is only half the story. According to historian Edward P. Kohn, author of Hot Time in Old Town, a study of the tragedy, the instruments which recorded those “official” temperatures were mostly above street level or positioned at other locations where there was a breeze. Everywhere the humidity held steady at 90% and temperatures at street level were much higher due to heat radiating off buildings and pavements. The worst of the heat was inside tenements just like ours. Kohn estimates the temperatures could have reached 120 degrees Fahrenheit in these overcrowded apartments."
SOURCE.https://www.tenement.org/blog/summer-blaze/
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