As the summer months approach, New Yorkers have a new way to keep an eye on high temperatures and possible health concerns.

The state's Department of Health has rolled out its new Interactive Heat Risk and Illness Dashboard.

"When we see these days where there's greater heat risk, we see more people end up in the emergency department, or more people in the hospital, and that's what we're trying to avoid," New York State Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said.

The new online map builds a color-coded, day-by-day outlook of which areas face greater health risks in the week ahead.

The dashboard also charts recent heat related emergency calls and visits.

It says the dashboard takes in information from the DOH, the New York State Mesonet and the National Weather Service.

The state says the dashboard is an extention of its efforts to respond to climate change and rising temperatures.

"This is a new tool that will help us understand the risk hot weather presents to us. We have moved beyond, 'it's not the heat, it's the humidity;' it's much more complicated than that, and this dashboard offers better insight into your risk," McDonald said in a statement. "The New York State Heat Risk and Illness Dashboard uses real time data points to help communities and decisionmakers — like school officials and employers–make informed choices, such as adjusting outdoor activities or opening cooling centers. The Department will continue to help increase awareness of the health risks associated with increasing temperatures and to provide tools needed to make healthy choices."

The state health commissioner hopes New Yorkers will check the dashboard as part of their daily routines.