The National Weather Service in the US has issued extreme heat warnings for parts of southern California, including Los Angeles, which will remain in effect until Thursday. Temperatures in these areas are expected to reach the high 30s Celsius. Burbank, a suburb north of Los Angeles, recorded 39C on Saturday.
A persistent area of high pressure is forecast to remain in place throughout the week, contributing to hazardous hot weather and an increased fire risk in the region.
Separately, parts of Indonesia are experiencing an extreme wildfire season, which has peaked over the past month. Western Kalimantan (Borneo) and southern Sumatra have been particularly affected, with a lack of rainfall drying tropical soils and allowing fires to spread quickly. The smoke from these fires, rich in peat, contains higher levels of toxic gases such as sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, leading to reduced air quality in surrounding cities and as far as Malaysia and Singapore.
In the Pacific Ocean, Super Typhoon Choi-Wan is currently active as a category 4 typhoon to the south-east of Japan and is on a strengthening trend. The typhoon developed on 30 September and caused power outages on Tinian in the Northern Mariana Islands as a tropical storm. As of Sunday night, Choi-Wan had sustained winds of 150mph and gusts up to 180mph. The system is expected to curve away from mainland Japan and weaken over the coming week.