The National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration announced this week La Niña has arrived. This usually means the northern parts of California and the U.S. see more rainfall while Southern California sees less rain.

A satellite image from CIRA/NOAA shows the Palisades Fire burning in Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025. A second video taken from space shows an overnight view of the Eaton Fire burning in an ...

AirNow is a collaborative effort of federal agencies that provides air quality data across the U.S. The site also has up-to-date information about the wildfires, resources, data, and interactive maps to help users learn more about particular areas and how they might be affected. There's also a free AirNow mobile app.

National Geographic's staff photographer—who has decades of experience covering wildfires—weighs in on why the latest fires are so devastating.

Weather organizations from around the world agree that the planet's average global surface temperature in 2024 could well have passed a crucial threshold meant to limit the worst effects of climate change.

Firefighters began to limit the spread of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles’ history after four straight days of battling blazes that have left at least 11 people dead and burned an area larger than all of San Francisco.

Since Tuesday, several wildfires have broken out in the Los Angeles area fueled by strong winds, with the largest being the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire. The two fires combined have burned thousands of acres and destroyed several hundred structures and homes. Five deaths have been attributed to the Eaton Fire.

Firefighters battle the Palisades fire on El Medio Ave. in Pacific Palisades, on Jan. 7, 2025. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS) (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times/TNS)

They were published last Friday in the annual report of Europe’s Copernicus Climate Change Service, the EU’s main climate science centre. Yet elsewhere in the same document it admitted the world’s average temperature did indeed exceed 1.5 degrees (Celsius) higher than the pre-industrial level (plus-1.5-degree) in 2024.

A grant program of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration aims to help the resilience of coastal cities and towns.

NOAA confirms Scientists have just discovered a brand new continent Tuesday briefing: What Ukraine might gain from two North Korean captives