The National Weather Service warned that a persistent area of high pressure will remain in place over southern California this week, bringing hazardous hot weather and an increased risk of fire. Burbank, a suburb north of Los Angeles, recorded 39C on Saturday, a few degrees shy of the October record for the region set in 1987.
Across the Pacific, Indonesia is in the midst of an extreme wildfire season that has peaked over the past month. Western Kalimantan on Borneo and southern Sumatra have been particularly badly affected. A lack of rainfall has dried soils that are usually water-logged, allowing fires to spread quickly both above and below the surface.
Indonesia's soils are extremely rich in peat, meaning the smoke produced carries higher levels of toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Cities in surrounding areas, and as far away as Malaysia and Singapore, have experienced reduced air quality in recent weeks as a result.
Drought and wildfires are more common in this part of the world during El Niño events, owing to suppressed thunderstorm activity. On the other side of that pattern, El Niño is contributing to an extremely active period for tropical cyclones in the Pacific Ocean. After recent hurricanes in the eastern half of the basin, Super Typhoon Choi-Wan is now active as a category 4 typhoon to the south-east of Japan.