Currently in Los Angeles — October 18, 2023: More sunsine

The weather, currently.

Try this on for size: So far in October, Burbank’s Bob Hope International recorded temperatures of 80 degrees or greater on 14 of the 18 days of the month, with six days hitting 90 or more.

For the entire month of September at KBUR, meanwhile, only 12 days hit or rose above 80, with a paltry three days hitting 90 or more.

All that to say, after an unusual September, October has been a great month across Los Angeles and this will continue today, with upper 80s to the low 90s away from the coast. As the ridge persists, even the beaches will feel the warmth come Thursday.

— Ade Adeniji

What you need to know, currently.

The UN Climate Change Conference, COP28, is about a month and a half away. However, after last year's conference — which emphasized Climate Finances — wealthy nations are still falling far behind on financial commitments.

The majority of these promises are already overdue. In 2009 wealthy nations promised to pay $100 billion per year in climate finance to the Global South by 2020.

Earlier this month the UN's main fund created to support these goals — the Green Climate Fund — announced that it had raised $9.3 billion, falling short of a $10 billion target. This comes nowhere near the $200-$250 billion the U.N. estimates developing nations will actually need each year by 2030.

The U.S. and China, the globe's two largest polluters, failed to contribute to the fund at all.

At least years COP, held in Egypt, countries also agreed to create a “Loss and Damage Fund.” A fund where wealthy nations would contribute funds to assist developing nations as they recover from inevitable climate disasters, i.e. loss and damages.

Almost a year later, there is no clear path forward for the creation or execution of this fund.

— Abbie Veitch

What you can do, currently.

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One of my favorite organizations, Mutual Aid Disaster Relief, serves as a hub of mutual aid efforts focused on climate action in emergencies — like hurricane season. Find mutual aid network near you and join, or donate to support existing networks: