Is Los Angeles Getting Hotter?
Los Angeles has warmed 2 degrees since the 1920s, placing it in the upper tier of global cities for warming. The record spans 115 years and the trend is clear.
The warming hasn't been steady. The first half of the record saw a change of roughly 0.5 degrees, while the second half has already added 1.2 degrees. The acceleration is unmistakable.
Average Annual Temperature by Decade
Los Angeles has warmed 0.4 degrees more than the average across our global dataset of 29 cities.
Decade by Decade
| Decade | Avg Temp (C) | Change from 1920s |
|---|
How Los Angeles Compares Globally
Among the world's major cities, Los Angeles's warming rate places it in the upper tier. Here is how Los Angeles stacks up against other global cities.
Key Numbers
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About This Data
Temperature data on this page comes from the Global Historical Climatology Network version 4 (GHCN v4), maintained by NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information. GHCN v4 contains monthly mean temperature data for over 25,000 stations across the globe, with records dating back to the 18th century for some stations. The data has been quality-controlled and homogenised using the Pairwise Homogeneity Algorithm to remove artificial discontinuities from station moves, equipment changes, and observation practice changes.
Los Angeles's primary station is Los Angeles Intl Ap, with records spanning 1914-2026. The "change" figures compare each decade's average to the 1920s baseline. Note that some of the warming in large cities is attributable to the urban heat island effect rather than regional climate change alone. The figures shown here include both components, as they represent what the city actually experiences.
NASA GISTEMP analysis, which processes GHCN v4 data, is a product of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. It is produced as a US Government work and is in the public domain.