As temperatures continued to rise this summer, the New York City Office of Emergency Management (OEM) officially opened cooling centers throughout Queens and the other boroughs as of noon on Tuesday, August 7.
The cooling centers, which are located in facilities such as senior centers, are air-conditioned places where the public can go to get out of the heat. In order to locate a cooling center, New Yorkers can visit www.NYC.gov/oem or call 3-1-1. OEM recommends calling cooling centers to confirm their hours of operation.
OEM has also released tips on how New Yorkers can stay safe during times of extreme heat. They include:
Remaining out of the sun if possible. However, if you do have to go out in the sun, wear sunscreen, a hat, and lightweight clothing that is light in color and loose-fitting.
Drink fluids such as water but avoid drinks with alcohol or caffeine.
Between 11 a.m. and 4 p.m., peak sun hours, strenuous activity should be avoided.
Use repeated cool baths or showers to cool down.
Do not leave children, seniors or pets in parked cars.
Check on neighbors, particularly those who are elderly or have special needs.
Call 3-1-1 to report fire hydrants that are open.
Also, OEM said that it is important to know the symptoms of heat exhaustion and heat stroke. For heat exhaustion, they are heavy sweating, weakness, headache, weak pulse, dizziness, exhaustion, fainting, nausea or vomiting and cold, clammy skin. The symptoms of heat stroke are flushed, hot, dry skin, weak or rapid pulse, shallow breathing, lack of sweating, throbbing headache, dizziness, nausea, confusion, unconsciousness and an elevated body temperature.
For more safety tips and to find out about energy conservation, visit the New York City Office of Emergency Management’s website.
Heat prompts city to open cooling centers
By Jessica Lyons
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