LOS ANGELES, United States (Reuters) — People in downtown Los Angeles suffered through a record-setting heat wave on Tuesday (Oct. 24) as dry desert winds gusted through southern California raising the risk of wildfires similar to those that ravaged the northern part of the state earlier in the month.
At its most intense, temperatures in the city climbed to 104 degrees (40 C) smashing a record of 99 degrees set back in 1909.
The heat wave is due to a weather event known as the Santa Ana winds, where desert winds travel west to east bringing extremely dry and hot conditions to the California coast.
The heat wave is expected to last through Wednesday.