Editor’s Note: Every week, Breaking Bronx features a health-related story, event or tidbit as part of an online expansion of our Be Healthy! column.

It will come as no surprise to anyone who has ventured outside recently: it’s hot. So hot that a citywide heat advisory is in effect as temperatures continue to rise and the National Weather Service estimates temperatures will reach the mid-90s this week.

Here are some sources of relief for this week and the rest of the summer:

1. Citywide Cooling Centers, including Department of Aging Centers, Salvation Army community centers, and public libraries are free air conditioned spaces. To find the cooling center closest to you, call 311 (TTY: (212) 504-4115) or visit Office of Emergency Management’s Cooling Center Finder at www.nyc.gov/oem.

2. The OEM has issued some precautions that are worth considering in the heat:

• Whenever possible, stay out of the sun.
• Use AC to stay cool and especially during the hottest parts of the day. Visit one of the city’s Cooling Centers or cool indoor spaces such as the movies, shopping malls, swim at a NYC pool or beach.
• Drink water at regular periods, and avoid alcoholic or caffeinated beverages.
• Limit strenuous activity, especially between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., the hottest hours of the day. (The coolest part of the day is between 4 and 7 a.m.)
• Use sunscreen with an SPF 15 or above to prevent burning, and wear a wide brimmed hat to cover your face and head.
• Do not leave pets and children in the car.
• Check on those particularly vulnerable to the heat at least twice a day. (This includes: elderly neighbors 65 or older, those who are very young, and anyone else with a pre-existing medical condition.)
• Look out for symptoms of heat illness/stress: hot dry or cold clammy skin, difficulty breathing, fast heartbeat, confusions, disorientation, dizziness, nausea or vomiting.

Editor’s Note: For more information,n see the Ready New York: Beat the Heat guide at www.nyc.gov/oem. or visit www.nyc.gov/health.

— Source: Office of Emergency Management