Denver is heating back up, with city temperatures nearing 100 degrees Saturday afternoon, according to the National Weather Service.
If Denver hits the forecasted 98-degree high, Saturday will tie for the hottest Aug. 17 of all time in the metro area, according to NWS records. Just one degree higher and Saturday’s heat will break the record.
The current 98-degree record was set in 2020.
The heat is expected to peak at 98 degrees around 4 p.m. Saturday before dropping down to 67 degrees overnight, NWS forecasters said.
Chances of afternoon thunderstorms in the metro area are small — close to 10% — and any rain showers that hit Denver are expected to wrap up by 9 p.m., according to NWS forecasters.
“Most will stay dry, but the mountains should see some scattered high-based showers in the evening,” forecasters said. “These will decay as they try to push into the urban corridor given the dry conditions, although they may produce gusty winds at times.”
With the increased heat, an Ozone Action Day Alert has been issued for Colorado’s Front Range — including Douglas, Jefferson, Denver, western Arapahoe, western Adams, Broomfield, Boulder, Larimer, and Weld counties — through at least 4 p.m. Saturday.
Short-term exposure to unhealthy ozone levels can cause coughing; eye, nose and throat irritation; chest pain; difficulty breathing and asthma attacks, according to state officials. Long-term exposure has been linked to a variety of health issues, including lung and cardiovascular disease and premature death.
People in the affected counties should stay inside during the heat of the day, avoid driving gas- or diesel-powered cars until the alert is lifted and conserve energy by setting air conditioners to a higher temperature, air quality officials said.
Denver will cool off a bit Sunday — with temperature highs around 93 degrees — but 90-degree heat is expected to last throughout the week, according to NWS forecasters.
Stormy weather will return Sunday and Monday, but the rest of the week will be relatively dry with scattered afternoon showers, forecasters said.
(left) Smart Schedule on Pixel-8 (center) Smart Ventilation on Pixel 8 Pro (right) System Health Monitor Pixel 8
Photograph: Julian Chokkattu
Finally, the Nest Learning Thermostat has a new System Health Monitor to flag potential maintenance needs by tracking your HVAC system’s behavior, such as when your air conditioner suddenly isn’t cooling rooms as efficiently as it used to. In addition, a new Smart Ventilation feature checks outdoor air quality before pulling air into your home, especially helpful if the air quality in your area is poor.
The new Nest Learning Thermostat (plus the included sensor) is available for preorder and costs $280. It goes on sale August 20.
The Future of Google Assistant
Google has been integrating its Gemini chatbot and large language models into its products and services over the past year, but what does that mean for Google Assistant? The Alexa and Siri competitor has been a mainstay for years but wasn’t mentioned once during Google’s developer conference in May. You’d think this spelled the end of Google Assistant, and that it’d eventually end up in the Google Graveyard, right? Think again.
Kattukaran says Gemini’s large language models will power Google Assistant, allowing it to “redefine the next era of the smart home.” The most immediate change? Google Assistant’s voice will sound much more natural and human-like, with improved pacing and rhythm. It’ll offer a more conversational experience and can maintain the context of your conversation as you string together multiple commands and queries.
This Gemini-powered experience will also improve existing features. For example, motion alerts from your security cameras will be much more detailed, allowing you to know exactly what’s transpiring without opening the camera feed. You can even ask the Assistant for information from your camera feeds, like if a FedEx delivery person showed up. Google wants people to ask Assistant to set up home automation too without getting bogged down in menus in the app.
None of this helps Gemini’s branding problem—there are so many variations with different capabilities, like Gemini Nano, Gemini Ultra, Gemini Flash, and more recently, Gemini Live. Google Assistant, on the other hand, was one neat AI umbrella that handled everything. But now with Assistant getting an assist from Gemini, the company is not yet ready to replace it anytime soon, meaning we have to live with two assistants even longer.
The new Google Assistant experience is available for select Nest Aware subscribers as a part of a public preview and is expected to roll out in 2025.
Let’s start with some common sense: Covering the Earth with plastic carpet is a terrible idea. And yet we continue to cover an ever-growing swath of our public and private open spaces with artificial turf in a way that will surely leave future generations scratching their heads in confusion.
It’s time to embrace healthier, cheaper and more environmentally responsible alternatives, and Los Angeles can help lead the way.
The artificial turf industry has had a great deal of success convincing millions of people that its short-lived, nonrecyclable, fossil-fuel-derived product is somehow good for the environment. Were there a greenwashing hall of fame, this would be in it.
In fact, it’s clear that artificial turf is bad for our ecosystems as well as our health.
Artificial turf exacerbates the effects of climate change. On a 90-degree Los Angeles day, the temperature of artificial turf can reach 150 degrees or higher — hot enough to burn skin. And artificial turf is disproportionately installed to replace private lawns and public landscaping in economically disadvantaged communities that already face the greatest consequences of the urban heat-island effect, in which hard surfaces raise local temperatures.
Artificial turf consists of single-use plastics made from crude oil or methane. The extraction, refining and processing of these petrochemicals, along with the transporting and eventual removal of artificial turf, come with a significant carbon footprint.
Artificial turf is full of perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances, or PFAS, known as “forever chemicals” because they accumulate in the environment and living tissue. The Synthetic Turf Council has noted manufacturers’ efforts to ensure that their products “contain no intentionally-added PFAS constituents.” So what? Tobacco companies don’t intentionally add carcinogens to cigarettes; they’re built into the product. PFAS have been linked to serious health effects, and while artificial turf is by no means the only source of them, it is one we can avoid.
Because artificial turf is a complex product made of multiple types of plastic, it will never be recycled. After its relatively short lifespan of about eight to 15 years, artificial turf ends up in indefinite storage, landfills and incinerators, creating a whole host of additional pollution problems.
Industry reps have seduced school boards and municipalities with promises that artificial turf fields can be used 24/7 and become a source of income as third parties line up to rent them. In reality, well-maintained, natural grass fields are more than sufficient for the limited number of hours in a day when people are available to participate in sports.
Studies show the maintenance costs of artificial turf oftenexceed those of natural grass. Naturally occurring organisms in soil break down much of what ends up on a grass field, including all kinds of human and animal bodily fluids. When the field is a plastic carpet, those systems can’t work, necessitating regular cleaning with a cleansing agent and a substantial amount of water. The infill component that cushions the turf must be combed, cleaned and replaced regularly as well. As the field ages, this work only increases.
The turf industry counters that grass fields result in the use of costly fertilizers and pesticides, which also become runoff pollution. That is a reasonable concern, but it can be addressed with environmentally responsible pest management and soil amendments. The continuing implementation of statewide food and green waste collection requirements will produce much more compost to cost-effectively maintain natural playing surfaces.
Remarkably, artificial turf doesn’t even save water compared with grass. Industry marketing materials claim that an artificial field can save millions of gallons of water a year and that homeowners who use the product to replace a conventional lawn can reduce their water use by more than half. But artificial turf must be regularly cleaned with water, and in warm climates such as Los Angeles’, artificial fields get so hot that schools must water them down before children play on them.
Industry water reduction promises generally compare artificial turf with the thirstiest sod grasses. But far more drought-tolerant varieties of natural turf grass are available. Residential lawns are indeed a tremendously wasteful use of water, but native plants are a far better solution than artificial turf — and you get butterflies as a bonus.
Even if artificial turf is never watered for cleaning or cooling, it contributes to losses of fresh water that natural surfaces would capture. Los Angeles in particular needs plants and natural surfaces that absorb as much of our precious rain as possible to recharge our groundwater and mitigate flooding. Impervious sheets of plastic cannot provide this service.
The Los Angeles City Council is considering requiring municipal departments to report on the consequences of artificial turf use, which is a good first step. From 2015 until last year, California law considered artificial turf a form of drought-tolerant landscaping that cities and counties could not prohibit. Thanks to a change in the law that excluded artificial turf from that category, Los Angeles has an opportunity to set a precedent by banning new installations of this destructive material.
Any truthful assessment of the financial, environmental and health consequences of artificial turf should lead governments to phase it out. We need to get over the antiquated notion that we can manufacture a better version of nature.
Charles Miller is the chair of the Los Angeles chapter of the Climate Reality Project and its Biodiversity Committee.
When a wildfire started in the mountains of Fresno County late last month, much of California was on the cusp of a heat wave that would go on to smash records both for its intensity and duration. Over the next week and a half, as the Basin fire swelled to more than 14,000 acres and temperatures in the area reached 112 degrees, at least nine firefighters were treated for heat-related illness. Four were taken to local hospitals, three of them airlifted from the fire line.
As the heat wave stretched on, the incident management team overseeing the fire formed a working group to deal with the extreme conditions. They provided firefighters with electrolytes to add to their drinking water and cooling towels to place on their necks.
And on July 5, in what may have been a first in the state, they constructed five generator-powered, air-conditioned yurts — three out on the fire line and two at the incident command post — to be used as emergency cooling stations.
Aggressive and impactful reporting on climate change, the environment, health and science.
“I’ve been doing this for over 35 years, and I can tell you that I have never seen this done before,” said Mike Lindbery of the U.S. Forest Service, public information officer on the Basin fire. “The heat has caused this team, which is basically coming in to solve problems, to look at a different aspect of problem solving.”
Much attention has been paid to the ways in which extreme heat ratchets up the risk of wildfire and intensifies its behavior, resulting in longer, more destructive fire seasons. But perhaps just as vexing are the challenges heat poses to the health of firefighters themselves, who already perform backbreaking work saddled with heavy equipment in unforgiving terrain.
On Tuesday, Daniel Foley, 27, a first-year Forest Service firefighter assigned to the Bly Ranger District in Oregon’s Fremont-Winema National Forest, collapsed after completing a fitness test and died at a local hospital. It’s not yet clear whether heat was a factor. The area was under a heat advisory, with afternoon temperatures in the mid-80s to 90s, depending on the elevation, according to the National Weather Service.
“It’s one of the hottest years on record for me so far, that I can remember,” said Mike Noel, assistant director of risk management for the Forest Service’s Pacific Southwest Region. He has been a wildland firefighter for 38 years. “All agencies have had multiple heat-related injuries this year.”
The team overseeing the Basin fire in Fresno County constructed air-conditioned yurts to be used as emergency cooling stations for firefighters earlier this month.
(California Complex Incident Management Team 11)
California has seen an uptick in heat-related illness among firefighters over the last 10 days or so coinciding with the elevated temperatures, he said. Seven firefighters assigned to the Lake fire in Santa Barbara County were treated for such illnesses on Thursday alone, he said.
At least four firefighters suffered from heat-related illness while fighting the Thompson fire in Butte County on July 2, and at least one on the Sharp fire in Ventura County on July 3, according to public information officers for those fires.
“This is extreme heat throughout the West, and it’s possible whole crews are being affected,” said Timothy Ingalsbee, former wildland firefighter and executive director of nonprofit Firefighters United for Safety, Ethics, and Ecology.
Wildland firefighters wear about 50 pounds of personal protective equipment, including a helmet, safety goggles and a personal pack containing water and equipment, said David Acuna, battalion chief of communication for the southern region of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.
They may also carry a 25-pound hose pack, as well as hand tools like chain saws or nozzles. And they often must hike to remote locations and then perform physical labor once they get there, which can include digging fire lines, putting in hose lays and taking vegetation down to bare mineral soil to stop the fire spread — all as they breathe in smoke, dust and debris.
“It’s claustrophobic, sometimes, because it seems like you can’t escape from the heat and smoke,” Acuna said.
Cal Fire firefighters typically work 24-hour shifts, followed by 24 hours off in order to rest and refuel, he said. During those 24 hours on, breaks can be elusive. “If we can catch a quick cat nap in the engine, that’s great, but most of the time we stay engaged,” he said.
Breaks were once openly frowned upon — “it’s that tough, macho culture,” said Riva Duncan, former wildland firefighter and vice president of Grassroots Wildland Firefighters, an advocacy group made up of retired and current federal firefighters.
But for many, a wake-up call came in 2011, when Bureau of Land Management firefighter Caleb Hamm, 23, died from exertional heatstroke on a fire in Texas, becoming just the second reported federal wildland firefighter to do so. A U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report with recommendations for better protecting firefighters was widely distributed.
The incident raised awareness among superintendents, crew leaders and engine captains about early indicators of heat illness, and encouraged firefighters to speak up when they’re not feeling well, Duncan said. Many crews now have EMTs who carry extra electrolytes and cooling blankets and are trained to spot the early warning signs of heat illness, which can include cramps, weakness, nausea and fatigue, she said.
Firefighters walk along a hillside with scorched ground behind them in Mariposa, Calif., on July 5.
(Noah Berger / Associated Press)
Still, climate change has resulted in an ever-shifting baseline for what conditions firefighters can expect, including more intense, longer-lasting heat waves.
“We’re not even at the halfway mark in July,” Duncan said. “These extreme heat situations started early.”
“People need to understand that fires are behaving differently than they used to,” she added. “It’s not easy to put them out because they’re burning under different conditions than 10, 15 years ago.”
In California, as of Friday, 3,630 wildfires had burned 228,756 acres, compared with a five-year average of 3,743 fires and 111,813 acres over the same time frame, Acuna said.
“The fires are much, much more aggressive,” he said, attributing this to the heat and dryness, as well as the abundance of grasses and other fuels, which were stoked by two wet winters and left largely untouched by two mild fire seasons.
Members of the Redding Hotshots, an elite crew of Forest Service firefighters, are used to dealing with sweltering summer heat. But this season has been punishing even by their standards. They recently fought fires in both the Tahoe and Modoc national forests, where temperatures were in the 100s.
“It’s always hot on fires, but it seems like this year so far has definitely been about dealing with temperatures over 100, if not more,” said hotshot superintendent Dan Mallia.
Forest Service fire crews typically work up to 16-hour shifts, followed by eight hours of rest that are often spent sleeping outside. Although Mallia said breaks can be hard to come by, depending on how a fire is behaving, he says he encourages his members to hydrate, eat well and find shade when they can.
He noted that crews acclimate to the heat by training in it, but that it’s difficult to fully prepare for such extreme conditions.
“At the end of the day when you get out on a fire, it’s a little different,” he said. “There’s a lot of stuff going on as far as the work, the stress, the smoke, the heat, the fire — all that stuff definitely ramps up.”
Complicating matters, wildland firefighters are often sent to work in unfamiliar areas, which can make them feel the effects of extreme heat more acutely, said Max Alonzo, national business representative for the National Federation of Federal Employees and a former wildland firefighter who worked for the Forest Service for most of his career.
“I have seen people really struggle when they show up to different climates and different topography that they’re not used to, where they’re not used to the elevation, they’re not used to the weather,” he said. “We’re a national resource, so they’re going to go all over the country.”
He said that agencies could do more to proactively protect firefighters from the heat, including erecting cooldown areas on fire lines. Although he applauded the use of cooling yurts on the Basin fire, he said it’s not normal practice. Normal would be, “Hey, make sure you tell people to stay hydrated,” he said.
More could also be done to alternate crews — pulling firefighters off the line and letting them cool down before moving them back in, he said.
Cal Fire has already made changes to its personal protective equipment in response to rising temperatures, including transitioning to single-layer pants and removing colored ink from wildland jackets and undershirts in response to evidence that it increased the heat levels of the firefighters wearing them.
Federal agencies and many state and municipal departments have also begun to use drones to scout ahead of a fire or ignite backfires, lessening the burden on firefighters who would otherwise have to hike in on foot.
And wildland firefighters in hotter climates sometimes work bimodal shifts — toiling in the morning hours, then pulling back during the heat of the day and getting back out as things cool down in the evening, Mallia said.
Still, some say more changes may be necessary as the planet continues to warm. That could include sending more firefighters to an incident so they can distribute the workload more evenly, or placing more emphasis on nighttime operations.
The conditions also illustrate the increasing prudence of managing some backcountry fires for ecological benefit, treating them more like controlled burns rather than trying to immediately suppress them, Duncan said. That benefits the environment, and it protects the physical health of firefighters by permitting them to focus on fires threatening people or structures, she said. The idea remains politically unpopular, she noted.
It will also be increasingly key to set more controlled fires in the spring and fall to reduce the amount of fuel on the ground come summer, Ingalsbee said.
“Big picture, we’re going to have to be proactively managing fire during the cooler period of the year, rather than attacking all fires at the hottest period of the year, when we fail, and we surpass human physical ability for working in these kinds of conditions,” he said.
One thing appears certain: These conditions are unlikely to improve.
“I got a desperate call this morning from one of our members just like, ‘When is this going to end?’ ” he said Wednesday. “The heat is not ending. We’re just going to have to adapt to the new normal, whatever that is.”
As temperatures swelled to 128 degrees, Death Valley National Park rangers got a call that a group of six motorcyclists were in distress. All available medics rushed to the scene, and rangers dispatched the park’s two ambulances.
It was an “all-hands-on-deck call,” said Spencer Solomon, Death Valley National Park’s emergency medical coordinator. The superheated air was too thin for an emergency helicopter to respond, but the team requested mutual aid from nearby fire departments.
They arrived Saturday to find one motorcyclist unresponsive, and medics labored unsuccessfully to resuscitate him. Another rider who had fallen unconscious was loaded into an ambulance, where emergency medical technicians attempted to rapidly cool the victim with ice as they transported him to an intensive care unit in Las Vegas. The four other motorcyclists were treated at the site and released.
With record heat blanketing California and much of the West recently, Death Valley has hit at least 125 degrees every day since the Fourth of July, and that streak isn’t likely to change until the weekend, according to the National Weather Service.
Tourist Dave Hsu, left, feigns a chill as friend Tom Black takes a photograph at the Furnace Creek Visitor Center’s digital thermometer.
Extreme heat is both one of Death Valley’s greatest intrigues and its most serious safety concern. It’s not uncommon for a few people to die in the park from heatstroke in any given summer.
Located 200 feet below sea level and surrounded by steep, towering mountain ranges that trap heat, the valley is consistently among the hottest places on Earth.
In the summer, international travelers often schedule their trips without considering the weather. (All six of the men who fell victim to extreme temperatures near Badwater Basin on Saturday were from Germany.)
But even Southern California residents who are familiar with Death Valley’s hellish reputation will trek to the park just to experience the otherworldly heat.
“In L.A., people said, ‘No, don’t go out there; you’re crazy,’” said Nick Van Schaick, who visited the park early this week. He had spent the night in the nearby town of Beatty, Nev., then drove into the park at the crack of dawn Tuesday. “I don’t know. … There’s something compelling about this landscape.”
Visitors to Death Valley National Park drive in and out of the park on Highway 190 through the Panamint Valley, where temperatures were as high as 125 degrees recently.
Virtually all heat-related deaths are preventable, experts say, but what makes heat so dangerous is that it sneaks up on its victims.
The risk of Death Valley’s heat seems painfully obvious. It’s hard to miss the dozens of “Heat kills” signs throughout the park, and stepping out of a car there for the first time feels like sticking your face in an opened oven. Within seconds, your eyes begin to burn and your lips crack. Your skin feels completely dry — even though you’re sweating profusely, the sweat evaporates almost instantaneously.
But one of the first symptoms people experience as their core temperature begins to rise is confusion, which can inhibit a person’s ability to recognize that something is wrong or understand how to save themselves.
Studies have also shown that although almost everyone understands how to prevent heat illness, too few take action to protect themselves. That’s in part because many think they are uniquely able to handle the heat when in fact they are not. In 2021, a Death Valley visitor died from heat just days after another visitor had died on the same trail.
It’s a one-two punch. Hikers ignore the symptoms of heat exhaustion because they’re excited to hike or have nowhere else to go, said Bill Hanson, an instructor for Wilderness Medical Associates International and a flight paramedic in central Texas who specializes in heat-related emergencies. Then, “when a person reaches a pretty profound state of heat exhaustion — which by itself is not a lethal condition — and they’re still in that environment, the likelihood they’ll make the right decisions and reverse the process … is reduced because they have a reduced ability to make good decisions at all.”
One of the reasons that humans are quickly overcome by extreme heat is that there’s only one route for heat to exit the body. Blood carries heat from our core to our skin, and, when the breeze is too hot to carry heat away from us, the body can release it only through the evaporation of sweat. Any of that sweat that drips to the ground or is wiped off the face is a missed opportunity to cool down.
Visitors walk out onto the salt flats at Badwater Basin, taking advantage of cooler morning temperatures on a day when the mercury would rise as high as 125 degrees in Death Valley National Park.
In Death Valley, the air is so dry that sweat evaporates very easily, unlike in humid climates where the atmosphere contains more moisture. With profuse sweating, however, dehydration comes quickly. The park recommends visitors do their best to replenish lost water and drink at least a gallon a day if they’re spending time doing any physical activity outside.
But sweating and constant hydration will work only to a point.
“A 130-degree environment … there’s going to be a limited shelf life on a human body’s ability to exist in that environment without some technological support,” Hanson said.
Because of this, the park says to never hike after 10 a.m. during periods of extreme heat and recommends never straying more than five minutes away from the nearest air conditioning, whether it be in a car or building.
In the heat, sticking in groups can also save lives. While it might be difficult for a confused heat illness victim to recognize the symptoms or remember how to save themselves, friends can spot problems. In general, if you struggle to do anything that is normally easy for you — physically or mentally — stop to rest and seek cooler conditions immediately.
Muscle cramps are often the first sign the body is struggling to stay cool. They’re probably caused by a toxic concoction of dehydration, muscle fatigue and a lack of electrolytes like sodium, which are essential for chauffeuring water and nutrients throughout the body. Cramps are a sign that the body’s process for dumping heat is under stress.
Death Valley National Park visitor Steffi Meister, from Switzerland, photographs the landscape at Zabriskie Point where temperatures were as high as 125 degrees recently.
As the body struggles, heat exhaustion starts to set in. The brain, heart and other organs become tired from working to maintain the body’s typical temperature of 98 degrees. As the body passes 101 degrees, victims can start experiencing dizziness, confusion and headaches. It’s not uncommon for them to vomit, feel weak or even faint.
As the body passes 104 degrees, the entire central nervous system — responsible for regulating heat in the first place — can no longer handle the stress of the high temperatures. It starts to shut down. The victim might get so confused and disoriented that they no longer make sense. They might not even be able to communicate. They can start to have seizures and fall into a coma.
“To me, as a park medic, if you’re unresponsive, you’re going to the hospital,” Solomon said, “because your brain is essentially cooking.”
At this point, the heat has done irreversible damage that can leave the victim disabled for years to come. If internal temperatures don’t fall quickly, death becomes a very real possibility. Organs can fail within hours, killing the victim, even after their temperature starts to drop.
Heat illness can come on within just minutes or take hours to develop. “There’s kind of a weird phenomenon where there’s two times of day where we’ll get 911 calls for people who have fallen ill” due to heat sickness, Solomon said.
One is in the middle of the afternoon, when the heat is at its worst. The other is near 11 p.m. — visitors will feel OK during the day, but get increasingly dehydrated as they continue to exert themselves. “Then, they check into their hotel room and fall ill,” Solomon said.
In some extreme cases, heatstroke can overwhelm a person so fast that muscle cramps and other symptoms of heat exhaustion don’t have time to show. The Death Valley emergency response team typically gets about two or three heat illness calls per week in the summer, with visitors experiencing symptoms across the spectrum from mild fatigue to loss of consciousness.
Heatstroke experts overwhelmingly agree on the most effective treatment: cooling the patient as fast as possible.
“The key to survival is getting their body temperature under 104 within 30 minutes of the presentation of the condition,” said Douglas Casa, a professor of kinesiology at the University of Connecticut and the chief executive of the Korey Stringer Institute, a leading voice in treating heatstrokes. “It’s 100% survivability if you do that, which is amazing because there’s not too many life-threatening emergencies in the world that have 100% survivability if treated correctly.”
The fastest way to cool a patient is a cool ice bath, experts say. Hanson said his team in Texas will fly an ice bath on a helicopter and cool the victim in the middle of the desert until their temperature stabilizes before the medics even transport them.
However, in Death Valley, getting an ice bath to victims can be nearly impossible. The hot air is so thin that the team can’t fly helicopters. Instead, they bring a body bag and cool the victim inside with ice and cool towels as they’re transported via ambulance.
Although emergencies are regular, the park says they are preventable, and if people follow park guidance, they can experience the heat safely.
“It really is a reason why some people come to visit — because this is one of the few places on Earth where you can feel what that level of heat feels like,” said supervisory park ranger Jennette Jurado. “It’s our job as park rangers to do our very best to make sure people can have these experiences and then go home safely at the end of the day and remember these experiences.”
Visitors take a late-afternoon swim in the pool at Furnace Creek, where temperatures lingered in the 120s inside Death Valley National Park.
For Jurado, a safe visit looks like taking refuge in air conditioning during the hottest parts of the day and experiencing the heat in short five-minute intervals. The vast majority of visitors take this approach. If they hike at all, it’s early in the morning, and the car never leaves their sight. The rest of the day, they spend hanging at the hotel or by the pool — or they leave the park.
Although it might be possible for someone to — wrongly — convince themselves that a 90-degree heat wave in the city won’t affect them personally, it’s much harder to do that in a Death Valley heat wave.
Ironically, this makes Jurado worry more about cooler days in the park, when visitors may not be most on guard. When hikers died within days of each other a few years back, it was an unseasonably cool 105 degrees in the park.
“It’s that level of heat where people are like, ‘Oh, it’s not Death Valley hot, I can hike longer — I can take more risks,’” Jurado said.
Little Man Ice Cream location in Denver’s Highland neighborhood, July 4, 2022.
Kevin J. Beaty/Denverite
Don’t let the early week temperatures trick you — this week is going to be hot.
I grew up without central AC, so I sympathize. Here’s what you need to know about the latest Denver heat wave.
Denver can expect temperatures between 98 and 104 from Friday through Monday, according to the National Weather Service,
We would have to see prolonged temperatures above 100 to near any records.
“For the Denver area, the longest heat wave, a hundred degrees or more, is five days in a row. We’ve done that twice,” said Bernard Meier, a meteorologist with the weather service’s forecast office in Boulder. “We had a couple of streaks of four as well, so if we do hit a hundred all four of those days, that would be probably a top five heat event for the area.”
The city might open its cooling centers when temperatures rise.
The city will open its cooling centers when the National Weather Service issues a heat advisory, something likely to happen later this week.
When that happens, rec centers will open up to anyone looking to get cool.
As the temperature climbed Saturday to a record 128 degrees Fahrenheit in Death Valley National Park, a group of motorcyclists became distressed by the extreme heat, and one of them died, a park ranger said.
The motorcyclists were touring the park near Badwater Basin, a stretch of salt flats that is also the lowest point in North America, when — in the mid- to late afternoon — they reported being affected by the extreme heat, according to park ranger Nichole Andler.
One of the riders was pronounced dead at the site, and another person with severe heat illness was taken to Las Vegas, Andler said. Four others in the group were treated and released.
The name of the deceased motorcyclist, or other identifying information, was not released, and the specific cause of death will be determined by the coroner, Andler said.
“Yesterday it was 128 degrees, which was a record high for that day in Death Valley,” the ranger noted, “and these folks were traveling through on motorcycles, and most likely they didn’t have adequate cooling.”
The heat also hindered the rescue effort. When temperatures exceed 120 degrees Fahrenheit, a medical helicopter cannot access the park. Air expands when it is heated, becoming thinner than cold air. So, helicopters can’t get the lift needed to fly.
But Andler said that, in addition to park rangers, first responders from Inyo County and nearby Pahrump, Nev., assisted the bikers.
Saturday’s temperature was just shy of the all-time heat record in Death Valley — 134 degrees, which was set on July 10, 1913. Since record-keeping began in 1911, temperatures have reached or exceeded 130 degrees only three times — with two of those times since 2020: Aug. 16, 2020, and again on July 9, 2021.
Each year, at least one to three people die of heat-related illnesses while visiting the park, and each week, there are one to three calls for medical assistance for heat-related stress.
“Folks get excited about experiencing the warmest temperatures that they’ve ever experienced before, and sometimes they forget that if an hour ago they were hot and started to feel nauseous, then they need to spend the rest of the day in air conditioning — because that could be the earliest sign of heat illness,” Andler said. “If you warm up and never properly cool down, your body doesn’t get a chance to reset.”
Elsewhere in Southern California, the heat shattered records and broiled communities.
Leela Finley Little, 6, cools off Sunday at Tierra Bonita Park in Lancaster, which saw a high Sunday of 115.
(Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)
On Sunday, Palmdale and Lancaster each set record highs for that date — with Palmdale seeing a 114-degree high, exceeding the record of 110 set in 1989. In Lancaster, the 115 degrees recorded Sunday topped the record of 110 reported in 1989 and 2017.
The National Weather Service said that extreme heat would continue this week across the Southland, with highs of 105 to 115 in the interior valleys, mountains and deserts.
The excessive-heat warning was extended to 9 p.m. Thursday for the western San Gabriel Mountains, the Antelope Valley, Angeles Crest Highway and the corridors of the 5 and 14 freeways.
Another excessive-heat warning was in place until Wednesday for the Santa Clarita Valley, Santa Monica Mountains, Calabasas, the San Fernando Valley and eastern San Gabriel Mountains — regions where temperatures were forecast to exceed 100 degrees, according to the weather service.
A blistering heat wave blanketing parts of Southern California is expected to extend through the weekend, pushing temperatures well past 100 degrees in valleys and inland areas while continuing to create dangerous fire conditions across the state.
Temperatures in the San Fernando and San Gabriel valleys on Saturday were expected to range from the mid-90s to a high of 105 degrees, while the Santa Clarita and Antelope valleys were likely to see highs of up to 115 degrees, officials said.
“We could be approaching or exceeding all time record highs in Lancaster and Palmdale,” said Joe Sirard, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Oxnard.
The broiling heat has shattered records up and down the state this week, with Palm Springs reaching 124 degrees on Friday, breaking the all-time record of 123 degrees set in 2021, 1995 and 1993.
In Death Valley, the mercury soared to 127 degrees Friday — and Saturday it was expected to climb to 128 degrees, the weather service warned.
Extreme heat, low humidity and strong winds prompted officials to issue a red flag warning through the weekend along the 5 Freeway corridor and in the Antelope Valley foothills, Sirard said.
A man plays soccer against a wall in Venice Beach during a warm afternoon.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
“Fires are dangerous anywhere,” he said, “but this is really a heightened danger. [Fires] will spread rapidly, explosively, and it’s extremely dangerous for firefighters.”
Hampered by scorching temperatures, firefighters were continuing to battle numerous wildfires across California on Saturday. The largest is the Basin fire in Fresno County, which started June 26. The fire, which has burned 14,027 acres, was 46% contained early Saturday.
Crews were beginning to get the upper hand on the French fire, which began on the Fourth of July and had threatened the town of Mariposa outside Yosemite National Park. The 908-acre fire, which temporarily triggered mandatory evacuations and closed State Route 140 leading into the park, was 25% contained.
In Southern California, a fire in Santa Barbara County had swelled to 4,673 acres on Saturday morning with zero containment, officials said. The Lake fire, burning near Zaca Lake in the Santa Ynez Valley, triggered an evacuation order early Saturday for an area north of Zaca Lake Road, east of Foxen Canyon Road and south of the Sisquoc River.
Temperatures in the 90s and very low humidity overnight fueled the fire’s spread, while a layer of warm air over the fire had trapped smoke close to the ground, Scott Safechuck, a spokesman for the Santa Barbara County Fire Department, said in a post on the social media platform X.
Farther south, the Rancho fire, which was reported Friday evening, burned about 13 acres of brush along the 101 Freeway near Thousand Oaks.
Andy VanSciver, a spokesman for the Ventura County Fire Department, said in a video posted on X that the Rancho fire had been contained as of around 7 p.m. Friday. After stopping its forward progress, firefighters worked overnight to extinguish hot spots, he said.
Charlie Hammond, left, and Pierre Mordacq relax in Venice Beach during a warm afternoon Tuesday.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
In Riverside County, firefighters had managed to get control of the 70-acre Hills fire near Juniper Springs, with 75% containment as of Saturday afternoon.
Authorities had evacuated an area near where the fire broke out Friday afternoon at Juniper Flats Road and Mapes Road in Homeland. People affected by the evacuations were directed to Tahquitz High School in Hemet and the Riverside County Animal Shelter in San Jacinto.
Meanwhile, residents of Los Angeles County’s valleys and inland areas are urged to stay indoors during the day if possible and avoid hiking, even in areas that might seem cool at sea level.
“Even in the Santa Monica mountains, which are close to the coast, once you get above a certain elevation, 1,500 feet, it’s going to get very, very hot,” Sirard said.
Courson Park Pool lifeguard Ellie Gonzales, right, keeps an eye on swimmers as temperatures rose into the triple digits Wednesday in Palmdale.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Sirard said people should follow common-sense practices, like hydrating through the day and wearing lightweight and light-colored clothing. If you want to get some sun, head to the beaches, Sirard said, where temperatures should range from the low 70s to the low 80s.
“If people want to beat the heat this weekend,” he said, “the coast is the place to go.”
The city of Los Angeles has opened four cooling centers through the weekend where people can find relief from the heat:
Lake View Terrace Recreation Center, 11075 Foothill Blvd., Lake View Terrace Mid-Valley Senior Citizen Center, 8825 Kester Ave., Panorama City Fred Roberts Recreation Center, 4700 S. Honduras St., Los Angeles Jim Gilliam Recreation Center, 400 S. La Brea Ave., Los Angeles
Los Angeles County’s network of more than 150 cooling centers, which are located at libraries, parks and community centers, can be found here.
In the Bay Area, cool weather along the coast gave way to blistering heat in northern Sonoma and Napa counties, where temperatures were expected to climb to 110 degrees, said Nicole Sarment, a meteorologist for the weather service in San Francisco.
“There’s as much as a 50-degree variation, depending on where you are,” she said.
San Francisco was forecast to see a high of 79 degrees Saturday before dipping to 58 at night, she said. In Oakland, temperatures were expected to range from 59 to 87 degrees, while San Jose was predicted to see a low of 64 and high of 99.
Blazing heat and increased wildfire risk will grip Southern California through the Fourth of July weekend and into early next week, with temperatures peaking above 115 degrees in desert areas Friday and forecasters issuing heat warnings and advisories throughout the region.
Extreme temperatures and gusty winds will also combine with dry conditions to create a high risk of new wildfires throughout the state as the Thompson fire continues to burn across more than 3,500 acres north of Sacramento.
“Tomorrow is going to be an absolute scorcher,” Joe Sirard, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Oxnard, said Thursday morning. “It’s not your typical heat wave. This is a dangerous heat wave, this is a high-end heat wave. Very dangerous.”
Heat warnings were in place Thursday for much of L.A. County’s valleys and deserts as well as the Santa Monica Mountains.
Construction workers on a sidewalk improvement site toil as temperatures rose into the triple digits in Palmdale over the holiday.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
The predicted highs for July 4 hovered around 106 degrees in the valleys, 103 in the lower mountains and 111 in desert areas, according to the National Weather Service. On Friday, temperatures are expected to soar as high as 110 to 112 degrees in the county’s valleys and mountains, and between 112 and 118 in the desert. The only parts of the county that aren’t experiencing extreme heat conditions, Sirard said, are coastal communities.
Officials advised Southern California residents to take precautions against exposure to high temperatures, which can elevate the risk of heatstroke and heat exhaustion. The National Weather Service called on people to stay in air-conditioned spaces during the day and early evening, stay hydrated, check on neighbors and the elderly and avoid strenuous outdoor activities.
“It’s just too hot,” Sirard said. “Just use common sense. It’s a dangerous heat wave and that’s why we have the heat warnings.”
Jacque McDonald, 39, drove with her husband and their two young children from their home in Tarzana to Hermosa Beach on Thursday morning to beat the high heat in the San Fernando Valley.
“We came here just because we know it’s going to be hot. I’m not about it,” McDonald said as crowds of people in bathing suits and sunglasses strolled by on the Strand and gray clouds helped keep the temperature down. “We have a pool at our complex, but we figured it would be packed. So we planned to come down here to the beach.”
Annie Seawright celebrates while being carried by people after winning the Hermosa Beach Ironman competition on July 4.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
Just before noon, dozens of visitors shuffled down the dirt path at Eaton Canyon Natural Area, a popular L.A. County park in Altadena with a stream and a waterfall.
At the trail’s first water crossing, Mercedes Monje, 29, of Los Angeles sat along the bank with her partner and 2-year-old son splashing in the water while the rest of her family sat nearby. Monje said her family usually hits a beach or river on the Fourth of July.
They originally planned Thursday to go to the East Fork of the San Gabriel River. But when they arrived about 8 a.m., they were told by authorities that it was full.
“We’re a little bit disappointed that we couldn’t be where we actually had planned to go, but we’re trying to make the best out of it,” Monje said.
Meanwhile, the risk of wildfires is high in inland areas, as is the chance that even small fires could quickly become larger conflagrations, given the extreme conditions.
“We’re expecting high heat today, which increases the chances for fire growth,” said David Acuna, a Cal Fire battalion chief. Fire departments across California urged people to resist the temptation to celebrate the Fourth of July by shooting off fireworks that could spark new blazes.
In Butte County, the Thompson fire remained just 7% contained as of Thursday morning, Acuna said, though it had remained steady at 3,568 acres overnight. He said 1,962 personnel, 20 helicopters, 214 engines, 46 dozers, 43 water tenders and 37 crews were fighting the fire. At its peak, about 12,000 structures were evacuated, affecting about 28,000 people.
“The firefighters on the line will continue to remain hydrated and ready in the event the fire acreage increases,” Acuna said, adding that though some have been downgraded, “a number of fire evacuations and warnings” remained in place near the blaze Thursday.
In Simi Valley, the Sharp fire was holding at 133 acres, and the containment was updated from 15% to 60% Thursday morning, according to Ventura County Fire Department spokesman Andy VanSciver.
Airn Barnes enjoys a cool fountain at Courson Park Pool as temperatures rose into the triple digits in Palmdale.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
No structures have been damaged by the fire, which at one point prompted an evacuation order for 60 nearby homes and an evacuation warning for an additional 340. The orders and warnings were lifted Wednesday evening, VanSciver said.
“The containment lines have been holding and they’re being reinforced,” he said, adding that he didn’t anticipate wind conditions to cause the blaze to spread. “We have enough resources on hand to handle it.”
Afternoon thunderstorms en route to Colorado Wednesday afternoon threaten to bring large hail, damaging winds and tornado touchdowns, according to the National Weather Service.
Although the metro area has a slight chance of afternoon storms, the worst weather is expected to hit Colorado’s Eastern Plains east of Fort Morgan, NWS forecasters said.
“Large hail and damaging winds are the main hazards, but an isolated tornado can’t be ruled out,” forecasters said in a statement on social media. The weather service did not specify how big of hail or how strong of wind gusts are expected to hit the plains.
The storms will start around 2:30 p.m. on Colorado’s eastern border, near Julesburg, and around 3:30 p.m. further west on the plains, including near Akron and Limon, according to NWS forecasters.
Potential tornadoes are most likely on the eastern border, near Julesburg, but chances of a touchdown remain below 10%, forecasters said.
The Denver area can expect a dry afternoon Wednesday, with temperature highs around 92 degrees, according to NWS forecasters.
“Across the high country and urban corridor, dry and breezy weather is expected this afternoon, with elevated fire weather conditions possible,” forecasters said in a hazardous weather outlook.
Thunderstorms are more likely to move in on the metro area Thursday night, potentially disrupting fireworks plans for the Fourth of July holiday, the weather outlook stated.
A group of Disney California Adventure guests may not have had the most incredible time on Sunday after they needed to be rescued from an “Incredibles”-themed roller coaster amid sweltering heat.
Park employees wearing safety harnesses made their way to the stranded guests and handed them umbrellas before they were escorted down from the ride. Temperatures in Anaheim reached 86 degrees on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service.
A Disneyland spokesperson said the ride was stalled for about 30 minutes and park employees followed their standard procedures to help the guests safely exit the ride.
A park guest who was staying at a nearby hotel with his family and said he had a front-row view of the ride from his room told KNBC-TV that the ride also stalled on Saturday.
“I thought maybe the ride was closed,” Vince Crandon said. “I was really concerned for the heat and obviously for the people. … It was not moving and was on top of the apex.”
It’s unclear what prompted the ride to stall or how long riders were stranded, but several videos shared on TikTok show that this is not the first time riders were forced to descend the ride after mechanical issues. Previous videos show riders descend several flights of stairs while being escorted by park employees.
The Incredicoaster, previously known as California Screaming, opened in June 2018 and stands 120 feet tall and has a top speed of 55 mph, according to the ride description.
June 2023 did not seem like an exceptional month at the time. It was the warmest June in the instrumental temperature record, but monthly records haven’t exactly been unusual in a period where the top 10 warmest years on record all occurred in the past 15 years. And monthly records have often occurred in years that are otherwise unexceptional; at the time, the warmest July on record had occurred in 2019, a year that doesn’t stand out much from the rest of the past decade.
But July 2023 set another monthly record, easily eclipsing 2019’s high temperatures. Then August set yet another monthly record. And so has every single month since—a string of records that propelled 2023 to being the warmest year since tracking started.
On Wednesday, the European Union’s Earth-monitoring service, Copernicus, announced that it has now been a full year where every month has been the warmest version of that month since there’s been enough instruments in place to track global temperatures.
The history of monthly temperatures shows just how extreme the temperatures have been over the past year.Courtesy of C3S/ECMWF
As you can see from this graph, most years feature a mix of temperatures—some higher than average, some lower. Exceptionally high months tend to cluster, but those clusters also tend to be shorter than a full year.
In the Copernicus data, a similar yearlong streak of records happened once before, in 2015/2016. NASA, which uses slightly different data and methods, doesn’t show a similar streak in that earlier period. NASA hasn’t released its results for May’s temperatures yet—they’re expected in the next few days—but it’s very likely that the results will also show a yearlong streak of records.
Beyond records, the EU is highlighting the fact that the one-year period ending in May was 1.63 degrees Celsius above the average temperatures of the 1850–1900 period, which is used as a baseline for preindustrial temperatures. That’s notable because many countries have ostensibly pledged to try to keep temperatures from exceeding 1.5 degrees Celsius above preindustrial conditions by the end of the century. While it’s likely that temperatures will drop below the target again at some point within the next few years, the new records suggest that we have a very limited amount of time before temperatures persistently exceed it.
For the first time on record, temperatures have held steadily in excess of 1.5 degrees Celsius above the preindustrial average.Courtesy of C3S/ECMWF
Summer-like temperatures will be joined by sunny, mostly clear skies and a light afternoon breeze, according to NWS forecasters.
Temperatures in Denver will peak around 87 degrees Friday afternoon before dipping back down to 53 degrees overnight, forecasters said.
In northern Colorado, warm, dry and windy weather conditions will lead to increased fire danger, especially in Weld and Larimer counties, according to a NWS hazardous weather outlook.
Periods of critical fire weather conditions are possible, but will largely be dependent on fuel conditions, the outlook stated.
Fuel conditions refers to when excess plant material — including grasses, shrubs, trees, dead leaves and pine needles — significantly threaten the ignition or spread of wildfires, according to NWS.
Rain is set to return to the metro area Saturday afternoon into Sunday morning and early next week, forecasters said Friday.
Showers and thunderstorms could hit Denver between noon and midnight Saturday, and a cooler, unsettled weather pattern is expected to bring higher chances for rain Monday and Tuesday as a storm system tracks across the state, the hazardous weather outlook stated.
Warm weather will continue throughout the week — regardless of wet conditions — as temperature highs hover in the upper 70s and lower 80s across the metro area, forecasters said.
Saturday night rain showers and severe Sunday/Monday thunderstorms are forecasted for eastern Colorado, according to NWS meteorologists.
Warm, sunny weather will shine over Denver Thursday as the last of Wednesday’s storm rolls out, according to the National Weather Service.
Denver residents should enjoy time outdoors with plenty of sunshine and light wind Thursday and Friday before a new set of thunderstorms hits the city this weekend, NWS forecasters said.
Temperatures in the metro area will reach the upper-70s Thursday before dipping down to 50 degrees overnight, forecasters said. Friday could bring highs around 85 degrees.
Calm winds between 5 mph and 8 mph will drift through the metro area in the afternoon, according to NWS forecasters.
Starting Saturday afternoon, a new wave of rain showers and thunderstorms could pour over Denver, with the largest chance of weekend rain falling between noon and midnight Saturday, forecasters said.
Thunderstorms and rain showers could roll through the metro area through early next week. The NWS forecasters project chances of afternoon and evening storms Monday through Wednesday.
Starting Friday, elevated fire weather conditions could spark red flag warnings for the eastern plains due to warm temperatures, low relative humidity and increased winds in the area, according to a NWS hazardous weather outlook.
An extreme summer marked by deadly heat waves, explosive wildfires and record-warm ocean temperatures will go down as among the hottest in the last 2,000 years, new research has found.
The summer of 2023 saw the temperature in the Northern Hemisphere soar 3.72 degrees above the average from 1850 to 1900, when modern instrumental recordkeeping began, according to a study published Tuesday in the journal Nature. The study focused on surface air temperatures across the extra-tropical region, which sits at 30-90 degrees north latitude and includes most of Europe and North America.
June, July and August last year were also 3.96 degrees warmer than the average from the years 1 through 1890, which the researchers calculated by combining observed records with tree ring records from nine global regions.
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Jan Esper, the study’s lead author and a professor of climate geography at Johannes Gutenberg University in Germany, said that he was not expecting summer last year to be quite so anomalous, but that he was ultimately not surprised by the findings. The high temperatures built on an overall warming trend driven by greenhouse gas emissions and were further amplified by the onset of El Niño in the tropical Pacific.
“It’s no surprise — this really, really outstanding 2023 — but it was also, step-wise, a continuation of a trend that will continue,” Esper told reporters Monday. “Personally I’m not surprised, but I am worried.”
He said it was important to place 2023’s temperature extreme in a long-term context. The difference between the region’s previous warmest summer, in the year 246, and the summer of 2023 is 2.14 degrees, the study found.
The heat is even more extreme when compared with the region’s coldest summers — the majority of which were influenced by volcanic eruptions that spewed heat-blocking sulfur into the stratosphere. According to the study, 2023’s summer was 7.07 degrees warmer than the coldest reconstructed summer from this period, in the year 536.
“Although 2023 is consistent with a greenhouse gases-induced warming trend that is amplified by an unfolding El Niño event, this extreme emphasizes the urgency to implement international agreements for carbon emission reduction,” the study says.
The sweltering summer temperatures contributed to scores of heat illnesses and deaths, including at least 645 heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County, Ariz., where Phoenix saw temperatures of 110 degrees or hotter for a record 31 consecutive days.
Wildfires exacerbated by high temperatures raged across Canada and sent hazardous smoke down the East Coast of the United States and across the Atlantic. Meanwhile, ocean temperatures off the coast of Florida soared above 101 degrees, the temperature of a hot tub.
Multiple climate agencies, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the European Union’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, declared 2023 the hottest year on record globally.
Notably, Copernicus found that the summer months of June, July and August last year measured 1.18 degrees warmer than average — still hot, but not nearly as warm as the study’s findings for the Northern Hemisphere’s extra-tropical region.
That region was especially hot in part because it is home to so much land, which warms faster than oceans, said Karen McKinnon, an assistant professor of statistics and the environment at UCLA who did not work on the study. (June, July and August are also winter months in the Southern Hemisphere.)
McKinnon said the study’s findings are not unexpected, as there was already good evidence that the summer of 2023 was record-breaking when compared with measurable data going back to the mid-1800s. But by going back 2,000 years, the researchers also helped illuminate “the full range of natural variability that could have occurred in the past,” she said.
She noted that tree rings can serve as a helpful proxy for climate conditions in the past, as trees tend to grow more in a given year if they receive the right amount of warmth, water and sunshine.
But although last year’s heat was undeniable, the study also underscores that the summer temperature in this region was notably higher than the global target of 2.7 degrees — or 1.5 degrees Celsius — of warming over the preindustrial period, which was established by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 2015.
It also notes that some recent research has found the data used to calculate that baseline may be off by several tenths of a degree, meaning it could need to be recalibrated, with the target landing closer to an even more challenging 1.6 or 1.7 degrees.
“I don’t think we should use the proxy instead of the instrumental data, but there’s a good indication that there’s a warm bias,” Esper said. “Further research is needed.”
McKinnon said there is always going to be some degree of uncertainty when comparing present-day temperatures to past temperatures, but that the 1.5-degree limit is as symbolic as it is literal. Many effects of climate change, including worsening heat waves, have already begun.
“There are definitely tipping points in the climate system, but we don’t understand the climate system well enough to say 1.5 C is the temperature for certain tipping points,” she said. “This is just a policy goal that gives you a temperature change that maybe would be consistent with averting some damages.”
In fact, the study’s publication comes days after a survey of 380 leading scientists from the IPCC revealed deep concerns about the world’s ability to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees. That report, published last week in the Guardian, found that only 6% of surveyed scientists think the 1.5-degree limit will be met. Nearly 80% said they foresee at least 2.5 degrees Celsius of warming.
The report caused a stir among the scientific community, with some saying it focused too heavily on pessimism and despair. But Daniel Swain, a climate scientist with UCLA who participated in the survey, said its findings are worthy of consideration.
“There are many kinds of scientists, myself included, who are very worried and concerned and increasingly alarmed by what is going on and what the data is showing,” Swain said during a briefing Friday. “But if anything, I think that really results in a stronger sense of resolve and urgency to do even more, and to do better.”
Indeed, while scientists continue to weigh in on whether — or how quickly — humanity can alter the planet’s worsening warming trajectory, Esper said he hopes the latest study will serve as motivation for changing outdated modes of energy consumption that contribute to planet-warming greenhouse gases.
“I am concerned about global warming — I think it’s one of the biggest threats out there,” he said.
He added that he is particularly worried for his children and for younger generations who will bear the brunt of worsening heat and other adverse climate outcomes. There is a strong likelihood that the summer of 2024 will be even hotter, the study says.
“The longer we wait, the more extensive it will be, and the more difficult it will be to mitigate or even stop that process and reverse it,” Esper said. “It’s just so obvious: We should do as much as possible, as soon as possible.”
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It might feel like spring Wednesday, with highs across Los Angeles reaching into the high 70s, but Thursday is going to be a “shock to the system,” weather experts say.
Temperatures on Thursday and Friday are expected to drop 15 to 20 degrees from Wednesday’s highs as a cold storm blows across California, bringing low-elevation snow, showers and the potential for severe thunderstorms.
Some Southern California areas could feel historic low temperatures Friday, National Weather Service Meteorologist Mike Wofford said.
“With the system coming in, we’re going to see a dramatic drop [in temperatures] tomorrow,” Wofford said Wednesday from the weather service’s Oxnard office. “[There will be] an almost 20-degree drop in temperatures, and even cooler on Friday.”
Highs across most inland areas Wednesday are expected to peak in the high 70s, possibly reaching 80 degrees, Wofford said. But the temperatures will quickly give way to highs in the 50s on Thursday and Friday.
“Friday’s max [temperatures] across the coasts and [valleys] will be in the mid- to upper 50s, which would be cooler than normal in early January none the less April!” forecasters said in the weather service’s daily update.
Along with cold weather, snow levels will drop significantly lower than most storms, with accumulating snow possible on all of the major mountain passes in Southern California, including the Grapevine, the weather service warned.
“In general, we don’t get that many storms where snow levels drop to 3,000 feet or potentially down the Antelope Valley floor,” Wofford said. He said snow accumulation in the Antelope Valley isn’t likely, but he expected the area will get a mix of rain, snow and sleet. The nearby foothills could get up to an inch of snow, he said.
Snow is expected in Southern California on Thursday and Friday night, with 1 to 3 inches likely between 3,500 and 4,500 feet in elevation and more than 3 inches above 5,000 feet.
The storm’s cold nature is making it not as moisture-heavy as other recent storms, but that cold air is increasing instability in the atmosphere, weather officials said. Showers on Thursday and Friday could include thunderstorms, which have the chance to bring hail, downpours, small tornadoes and waterspouts — though that will be isolated, Wofford said.
Rain totals will mostly remain under half an inch, with some locally higher accumulations where thunderstorms occur.
Temperatures across Central California also are likely to drop 20 degrees by Thursday, officials said — from highs in the 70s to around 50 or 60 degrees.
In the southern Sierra Nevada, a winter weather advisory will go into effect late Wednesday and remain through Friday, with 6 to 12 inches of snow expected above 3,000 feet.
“Travel will be very difficult,” the warning said. “Strong winds could cause tree damage. Cold wind chill readings as low as 20 degrees below zero could cause frostbite on exposed skin in as little as 30 minutes.”
In the state’s northwestern corner, weather officials warned about subfreezing, “unseasonably cold” temperatures beginning late Wednesday, with snow falling as low at 1,500 feet and mountain temperatures dropping to 15 to 25 degrees.
Tea consumption is higher than you might imagine. In fact, it’s the second most consumed drink globally, trailing only water in its universal appeal.
The History of Tea Consumption
Originating around 2700 BC, tea has evolved into a cultural cornerstone across continents. It offers a palette of over a thousand varieties, including white, green, oolong, and black teas. Each type presents a unique flavor and health benefits, shaped by its specific processing and fermentation techniques.
While known for its coffee consumption, the United States shows a significant preference for tea. Ready-to-drink tea accounts for a substantial share of the market.
Interestingly, nearly 80% of all tea consumed in the U.S. is iced tea!
Global Tea Consumption
Globally, the tea industry is a vital economic component for many countries. China leads the pack in terms of revenue generated from tea. The industry’s growth is evident, with projections indicating a steady increase in global tea consumption. This is supported by a rising interest in organic and specialty teas, which have seen substantial growth in recent years. This may be a result of a broader consumer shift towards healthier, more sustainable options.
Health Benefits
The health benefits of tea are thought to range from antioxidants that protect against various cancers to its links with reduced risks of conditions like Parkinson’s disease and cardiovascular issues. Tea’s hydrating properties and the potential for lowering LDL cholesterol levels and blood sugar also contribute to a healthier lifestyle.
Tea is also culturally significant. Countries like China, Korea, and Japan recognize tea cultivation sites as Globally Important Agricultural Heritage Systems (GIAHS). International Tea Day on May 21 celebrates the global importance of tea, highlighting its role in rural development, poverty reduction, and sustainable livelihoods.
Tea’s status as the world’s second most popular drink is a testament to its rich history and health benefits.
Dangerous winds continued to thrash Southern California on Sunday, causing some power outages in Los Angeles neighborhoods and triggering warnings that Interstate 5 near the Grapevine could be shut down because of snow and ice.
A wind advisory remained in effect across Los Angeles, Ventura and Santa Barbara counties until 7 p.m. Sunday, with gusts ranging from 25 mph to 50 mph across the region. Gusts of up 70 mph are possible in mountain areas, said meteorologist Robbie Munroe of the National Weather Service.
Wind advisories remained in effect in San Diego, Riverside and San Bernardino counties until Sunday at noon, officials said. There is also a slight chance of rain Sunday night in the coastal and valley regions.
Temperatures across the region ranged from the low to mid-50s on Sunday and were expected to drop into the 40s overnight, according to the weather service. Valley areas could see temperatures dip to the low 30s, Munroe said.
“Take extra care with pets and plants,” he said.
The cold air has also brought snowfall, icy conditions and fog along Interstate 5 near the Grapevine, which has made for hazardous driving conditions, prompting authorities to warn drivers about delays and possible closure of the busy roadway. A crash involving dozens of vehicles on a foggy stretch of Interstate 5 near Bakersfield on Saturday left two people dead and nine others injured.
The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power reported power outages throughout its service area on Sunday affecting more than 2,500 customers, according to its website. Southern California Edison’s website reported 17 outages in Los Angeles County affecting more than 3,600 customers, and three outages affecting 384 customers in Orange County.
Although the latest cold front might remind Southern Californians of last year’s massive winter storm, Munroe said that current conditions decrease the odds of witnessing a similar white winter.
“This is a pretty cold system, but it lacks the combination of cold and moisture that we saw last year,” he said.
Rain is expected to finally roll through Los Angeles and Southern California starting Monday and continuing through next week, according to the National Weather Service.
Saturday’s sunny skies are projected to give way to some clouds on Sunday, with temperatures starting to slightly drop.
The likelihood of showers in Los Angeles County, including downtown, is expected to increase on Monday with a 50% chance of rain.
Chance of precipitation increases through the week, with a slight chance of thunderstorms Wednesday and Thursday. Temperatures are projected to drop to the 60s through the week.
Total rain expected from Sunday through Tuesday could reach half an inch from a storm system moving inland that is expected to bring colder weather and rain throughout California, the weather service wrote on social media.
Any precipitation should bring respite to an otherwise dry and somewhat gusty few weeks in Southern California, despite the state being in an El Niño weather pattern that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration expects to provide an unusually warm and wet season for parts of the west.
While Los Angeles isn’t currently under any red flag warnings or other fire-risky watches, the weather service did upgrade Los Angeles and Ventura counties to “locally brief critical fire weather conditions” until early Sunday, largely concentrated in the hills and mountains, due to wind and low humidity.
“Gusts of 25 to 35 mph will be common, strongest into Sunday morning with isolated gusts to 45 mph,” the weather service wrote. “Conditions will change rapidly Sunday night with an active storm pattern through next week.”
California has otherwise experienced a mild wildfire season, after dozens of atmospheric rivers pummeled the state earlier this year and delivered record rainfalls.
Tropical Storm Hilary showered Southern California with several more inches of rain in August, which caused flooding in Coachella Valley.
Weather experts anticipate a strong El Niño weather pattern through the first few months of 2024, increasing California’s likelihood for even more rain after years of drought and extreme wildfires.
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