What's in store for the music, TV, and film industries for 2025? We don't know, but we're making

some fun, bold predictions for the new year. Listen now to the Pop Culture Happy Hour podcast from NPR.

Hey, shortwaivers. Emily Kwong here. Longtime host and friend of planet Earth have gone outside

because I want to ask you a question.

Our team wants to know what changes are you noticing in your local environment?

Maybe the fire season is lasting longer and longer, or there's an area of your town that just

keeps flooding. Maybe there's less bees or a policy or technology that has dramatically changed life

in your town. Send us a voice memo with your name, the place where you live, and the change

you've noticed in your local environment, and have science questions about. And we'll investigate.

Our email is shortwave at npr.org. Thanks so much.

You're listening to Shortwave at npr.org. Thanks so much.

You're listening to Shortwave from NPR.

Since Tuesday, fires have continued to blaze across Los Angeles, burning over 30,000 acres of land.

And this area has a history of wildfires, but as we've heard from officials, this is an extreme case with so many saying they have never seen conditions like they're seeing today.

This looks ominous and frightening. Those flames are huge. Tens of thousands of people have been

forced to leave their homes. You've seen these mandatory evacuation orders in place.

And the scope of these wildfires has caused the air quality to plummet. Air quality is monitored

through the AQI, a color-coded air quality index. And right now, parts of L.A. are in the orange and red

zone, meaning ash, toxins, and super-fine particles the kind that can get lodged in your lungs

are at such unhealthy levels that all people should stay inside.

And even as firefighters work around the clock to contain the blaze, the smoke will stay and drift,

worsening the air quality well beyond the fires.

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