The heat wave in New York is getting worse with increasing humidity and temperature soaring to 95 degrees. 

Keeping in mind the ill effects of the heat on the residents and in anticipation of the heat wave forecasts for the rest of the week, the Office of Emergency Management has opened cooling centers across New York. The centers were expected to be open through Tuesday.

The OEM advised people to take precautions against the heat wave especially senior citizens and those with chronic health problems or mental disability.  

Residents across New York are advised to use air conditioning to stay cool or go to places that have air conditioning, and drink water at regular intervals to maintain the water level in the body. Excessive exercise especially in the hottest time of the day should be avoided.

There is news of several manhole fires in Queens on Monday, causing minor outages and temporary evacuations.

"The overheating of the wires causes them to burn, which, in turn, obviously causes the fire," battalion Chief Robert McBride told reporters. "And when wires burn underground, that's when the gases build up, and that's when we have the elevated levels of carbon monoxide."

As of now, there are no major blackouts in the city but the citizens have been asked to conserve energy.

The OEM recommends citizens regularly check on vulnerable family, friends, and neighbors, especially if they don't have air conditioning or live alone.

Cooling centers are air conditioned places, such as Department for the Aging senior centers, Salvation Army community centers, and public libraries that are open to the public during heat emergencies.

To find the cooling center closest to you, call 311 or visit nyc.gov.