Heat stress in Los Angeles
Mild at the coast but sharply hotter inland: heat waves and Santa Ana winds drive real heat-stress risk.
Reduce exertion and hydrate frequently. Take regular shade breaks.
Wet-bulb globe temperature via the Liljegren (2008) method. This page is cached and refreshes in the background, so the live badge below can be a few minutes ahead of it.
View Los Angeles on the live mapReading heat stress in Los Angeles
Wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) is the heat measure that actually tracks danger to the body. Unlike the plain air temperature on your phone, it folds in humidity, wind, and direct sun: the factors that decide whether your sweat can still cool you. It’s the standard the military, athletic associations, and occupational-safety bodies use to call when outdoor activity is no longer safe.
That matters in Los Angeles because mild at the coast but sharply hotter inland: heat waves and Santa Ana winds drive real heat-stress risk. The number above is the live outdoor WBGT for the city right now; tap through to the live map to inspect any neighborhood, scrub the forecast hour by hour, and see the 7-day outlook.
How hot Los Angeles usually gets
Across 2015–2024, Los Angeles averaged a 87°F daily high in summer: 74th hottest of the 174 metros we track, and August is typically the warmest month.
Most of the heat here sits below the extremes: around 53 days a year top 90°F, and only about 5 reach 100°F.
At about 64% summer humidity, the air is damp enough to blunt how well sweat cools you on the worst afternoons.
The ceiling is a long way above the routine: the hottest day in this sample hit 114°F, about 27°F past a normal summer afternoon.
Daily high temperatures and humidity from ERA5 reanalysis, 2015–2024 (hottest day in the sample: 2024-09-06). These are climate averages for context: the reading at the top of this page is the live one.
For school sports, see our California heat policy page.
Heat in Los Angeles: common questions
How hot does it usually get in Los Angeles?
Across 2015–2024, Los Angeles averaged a 87°F daily high through summer, with about 53 days a year at or above 90°F and 5 at or above 100°F. August is typically the hottest month, and the hottest day in that sample reached 114°F. Figures are from ERA5 daily reanalysis.
When is the hottest time of year in Los Angeles?
August has the highest average daily high in Los Angeles. Summer humidity averages about 64%, enough to blunt how well sweat cools you on the hottest afternoons. Use the forecast on this page to plan around the specific days that matter.
What is the WBGT in Los Angeles right now?
The reading at the top of this page is the current wet-bulb globe temperature for Los Angeles, California, computed from live weather by the Liljegren (2008) method and labeled with how recently it updated. For an exact reading at your own neighborhood, plus an hour-by-hour forecast, open the live map.
Why is WBGT more useful than the temperature for Los Angeles?
Air temperature ignores humidity, wind, and sun: the things that decide whether heat is dangerous. Los Angeles's climate (mild at the coast but sharply hotter inland: heat waves and Santa Ana winds drive real heat-stress risk.) is exactly why a single "feels-like" or thermometer reading can understate the real risk. WBGT captures all of it in one number.
When is heat most dangerous in Los Angeles?
August is the peak month in Los Angeles, and within a day heat stress is highest in the early-to-mid afternoon when sun load is greatest. About 53 days a year reach 90°F, so most of the risk sits in a handful of afternoons rather than across the whole season. Use the forecast on this page to find the window that works.
Put Los Angeles’s live heat stress on your site
A self-updating WBGT badge for schools, teams, camps, and local sites: it always shows the current reading and links back here.
<iframe src="https://wetbulbtracker.com/embed/los-angeles-ca" width="340" height="150" style="border:0" title="Live WBGT: Los Angeles, CA" loading="lazy"></iframe>Paste it into any website. The badge updates itself and links back here. Add ?theme=light for light sites.