Hazy day in Hawaii

If you haven't heard, Kilauea volcano on the Big Island is making a show!  On the Kalapana side of the island, lava is flowing down into the ocean.  Up on top, sulfur dioxide is spewing out of a vent at Halema'uma'u Crater.

Sulfur dioxide is not good stuff.  It is poisonous and similar to air pollution generated by man-made activities.  In some areas of the Big Island, people are forced to evacuate their homes when the sulfur dioxide is carried in their direction from the wind (or lack of wind).

My family has a farm up in Volcano, now operated by my cousin.  In the last report, my cousin said the crop yields were dropping because the volcanic pollution.  We are used to disruptions like this - the volcano has been erupting nearly non-stop for the last 26 years.  Sometimes activity slows and right now the activity has been picking up.

On the other islands the haze (we call it "Vog") is not as bad, because it dissipates as the wind blows.  Today we have light winds from the South - which is opposite of the normal trade winds.  We call them Kona winds.  The winds are causing the air to sit fairly still and the vog is floating around.

Today Oahu's skies look similar to big cities like Los Angeles.  Here are some photos I shot this morning.

If you're planning a visit to Hawaii, don't let the vog worry you too much.  It comes and goes, most of the time we don't have voggy skies like they are today.  For people with asthma it is better to stay indoors as it would be in any big city with smog.

As for me, I am going surfing after work!

Mike Bates Honolulu real estate agent