Currently in Los Angeles — September 14, 2023: Marine layer again

Plus, Earth now on track to breach 1.5°C this year.

The weather, currently.

Marine layer again

In a few weeks time by October, normally Santa Ana winds usher in fire season, offshore flow, and some of the warmest heat waves of the year. But right now you wouldn’t know it, with a marine layer pattern setting in as if it’s early June all over again.

Once the gunk cleared yesterday (by late morning in Hollywood), temperatures rose to the upper 70s to lower 80s away from the coast. Expect similar conditions today.

What you need to know, currently.

The latest checkup on 2023’s expected annual temperature has come in hot.

According to the August numbers from Berkeley Earth, there’s now a greater than 99% chance that this year ends as the hottest year in recorded history. Even more worryingly, there’s also now a 55% chance that 2023 will be the first year to top the 1.5°C threshold — eclipsing the mark set out by the world as a line in the sand at the 2015 Paris Climate Conference.

From Berkeley Earth:

The surprisingly strong warming in June, July and August 2023, combined with the likelihood of a strong El Niño event, have increased the forecast for the rest of 2023.

Prior to the start of 2023, the likelihood of a 1.5 °C annual average this year was estimated at <1%. The fact that this forecast has shifted so greatly serves to underscore the extraordinarily progression of the last few months, whose warmth has far exceeded expectations.

Breaching the 1.5°C threshold would further lock in irreversible changes in the Earth’s land, ocean, ice, biosphere and atmosphere and underscores the need to continue ramping up pressure on governments and people in power to rapidly transition our economy to stop using fossil fuels. Read more at Berkeley Earth.

What you can do, currently.

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