The sidewalks are scalding. The sun is blinding. It’s over 100 degrees across much of Los Angeles. We’re in the midst of a bona fide heat wave and it’s only June. What the heck is going on?

“Things are definitely out of whack here,” said Bill Patzert, a climatologist at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. “This heat wave is not only unusual in its intensity, it is potentially deadly.” Angelenos know that a few days of punishing heat each year are part of the bargain of living in this usually temperate city.