Autumn has seen excruciatingly little rain, intensely low humidity, record heat and powerful winds that sparked what is so far the second largest wildfire in modern California history.
"There is some evidence that the autumn on average in Southern California is going to be drier as the climate warms," UCLA climate scientist Daniel Swain said.
The record warmth in California "is clearly a symptom of climate change," Swain said. "The likelihood of seeing record warmth and record heat waves is much more likely due to long-term warming."
During the worst period of fire weather, humidity sank to extremely low levels — as low as 1% — with low single-digit readings even at the beaches, which are typically damp from moisture from the ocean.
Even during a summer heat wave in Southern California, there's still enough moisture in the air to cause dew to form at 20 to 40 degrees. But the air had become so dry that the temperature would have to have fallen as low as negative 20 degrees to form dew, Swain said.
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