RIO DE JANEIRO, April 12 (AFP) - The worst heatwave to hit Rio de Janeiro in 50 years turned the city into a pre-Carnival furnace Wednesday, and killed 32 elderly people farther south, officials said.

According to the Inmet national weather service, recorded temperatures were six degrees (10 degrees Fahrenheit) above average for the month: 39.7 degrees Celsius instead of 33.8 degrees Celsius (103 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 93 degrees Fahrenheit).

But strong sunlight and lack of wind meant they felt much higher, around 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in some areas.

"The heatwave in Rio is seen as historic. February right now is the hottest month for the past 50 years," meteorologist Giovanni Dolif told the O Globo daily.

On Monday and Tuesday, the scalding conditions proved deadly for 32 elderly residents in Santos, a city close to Sao Paulo and 350 kilometers (220 miles) south of Rio.

Half of them succumbed in their homes and the other half died as they sought help in clinics, a spokeswoman for the city's health service told AFP.

The heatwave made Rio feel like the hottest place on the planet on Tuesday, save for Ada, a town in eastern Ghana, according to data from the World Meteorological Organization.

Rio's recorded thermal sensation reading that day was 46.3 degrees Celsius -- higher than the Sahara desert, which came in at a milder 33 degrees.

Dolif said being in Rio felt worse than being in a dry desert because seaside humidity gave the temperature a suffocating boost, making it feel much hotter on the skin.

El Nino, the phenomenon in which unusually hot Pacific Ocean waters disrupt weather patterns, was blamed for the heatwave by preventing the formation of clouds.

Rio's heatwave was forecast to continue into the weekend, when the city's famous four-day Carnival starts.

Sapped residents in the city have taken to going to the beaches at night to seek a respite from the heat.

Doctors were recommending cold showers and lots of liquids to mitigate the risks of heat exhaustion and dehydration.