Somebody cue Martha & the Vandellas because there is a heatwave outside.

All over the country temperatures are hitting at least 90 degrees and people are feeling as if they could fry an egg on a sidewalk. Currently in New York, the weather channel reports that it feels like 111 degrees though it is 99 degrees, and in Washington, D.C., the temperature is also 99 degrees but feels like 113.

More than floods, lightening, tornadoes and hurricanes combined, heat is the number-one weather-related killer in the United States. What do you do when life goes on, but the heat doesn’t stop?

BET.com offers some tips on how to stay cool:               

1. Wear lightweight, loose-fitting clothing. Loose clothing will allow your body to breathe without being suffocated in tight, spandex and polyester-type clothing.

2. Drink plenty of fluids Even if you don’t feel thirsty, when it’s hot outside your body depends on fluids to stay cool. Drink plenty of water and non-alcoholic and decaffeinated drinks. Alcoholic and caffeinated beverages require a lot of energy from your body to digest properly. Avoid drinking them when it is hot outside.

3. Run most of your errands when it’s cool. If you don’t have to go out during the day, don’t. Reschedule strenuous activities until the coolest time of day.

4. Take the sun in doses. According to weather.gov, sunburns reduce your body’s ability to dissipate heat. Try to avoid getting too much sun.

5. Don’t eat heavy foods. The National Weather Service reports that foods like meats and other heavy proteins increase metabolic heat production and consequently more water is lost. “Put less fuel on your inner fires,” they say.

6. Visit a cooling center. If you don’t have air conditioning at home, cities like New York City have cooling centers that people can visit to keep cool. Heat disorders are usually the cause of the body’s inability to shed heat by sweating or by a salt imbalance caused by too much sweating.

Don’t be a victim of the sun’s power. Be cool.

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(Photo: AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)