Residents of Los Angeles are sweltering in record heat for fall weather, with schools canceling recess, firefighters called in to help with victims of heat stroke and people hitting the beaches to try and cool off.
The 113 degrees Fahrenheit heat was the highest in Los Angeles since the 1990 record of 112 degrees for the same time of year making it the hottest day for fall weather since record keeping began for temperatures in 1877.
The heat wave has produced two consecutive double-digit days, but the Weather Service predicts temperatures for Los Angeles will drop to the mid to upper 90’s tomorrow.
The fire department was kept busy with heat related calls but arguably AAA was kept even busier with a 14 percent rise in dispatch calls for a typical Monday. AAA spokesman Jeffrey Spring said they were averaging around 2,000 calls an hour, mostly relating to dead batteries and overheating cars, “there are a lot of dead batteries because they tend to give up when they’re not in good shape in this kind of weather,” said Spring.
Authorities are asking residents to think twice before turning on the central air conditioning, as they don’t want to overtax the grid. The city’s Department of Water and Power advised that the grid is currently working normally, but if everyone rushes home to turn on the air conditioning, it may prove too much.
The fall heat wave follows on from a summer that was the second coldest on record.
