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.

Smoke from the wildfires that have devastated the Los Angeles area can even be seen from space. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration earlier this week shared satellite images capturing plumes of smoke that have clouded the Southern California skies.

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.

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.

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

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 ...

Five deaths have been attributed to the Eaton Fire. A satellite image from CIRA/NOAA shows the Palisades Fire burning in Los Angeles County on January 7, 2025. A first video from satellites shared ...

David Helvarg Fire has always played a crucial role in Southern California’s ecosystem, which features dry conditions and strong, hot desert winds called the Santa Anas, which blow from the east each winter.

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.

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)

How dry is it in Southern California? See the drought levels and recent rainfall totals for several counties in the region.