The U.S. National Weather Service has issued extreme heat warnings for parts of Southern California, including Los Angeles, through Thursday as temperatures are expected to reach 30 degrees Celsius. Burbank, a suburb north of Los Angeles, recorded 39C on Saturday, just a few degrees colder than the October record for the region set in 1987. A lingering area of high pressure will remain in place this week, bringing further dangerously hot temperatures and increased fire risk.
Parts of Indonesia are in the midst of an extreme wildfire season, which has peaked over the past month. West Kalimantan (Borneo) and South Sumatra were particularly affected. The lack of precipitation dried out tropical soils, which were usually waterlogged, meaning fires were able to spread quickly, both above and below the surface. Indonesian soils are also extremely rich in peat, meaning the smoke produced by fires contains higher levels of toxic gases such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. As a result, cities in surrounding areas and as far away as Malaysia and Singapore have experienced reduced air quality in recent weeks. Drought and wildfires are more common in this part of the world during El Niño events due to the suppression of storm activity.
On the other hand, El Niño contributes to an extremely active period of tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean. After recent hurricanes in the eastern half of the basin, Super Typhoon Choi-Wan is now active and a Category 4 typhoon in southeastern Japan, while following a strengthening trend. After developing on September 30, Choi-Wan crossed the Northern Mariana Islands as a tropical storm, causing power outages on the island of Tinian, forcing the closure of schools and government offices. Choi-Wan experienced rapid intensification after clearing the islands on Sunday, and since Sunday evening has experienced winds of 240 km/h and gusts of up to 180 km/h. The system is expected to move away from mainland Japan and areas hit by Typhoon Dujuan last month, while gradually weakening over the coming week.
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