Earlier this week, the skies around Maui started to become Voggie. Vog or volcanic haze is a pollutant that is emitted from the active Kilauea Volcano on the Big Island. While Vog impacts areas of the big island year round, we see Vog on Maui and the other smaller islands when our normal tradewind conditions change. Light southerly and southeasterly winds will often bring the haze up from the Big Island to Maui and the rest of the Hawaiian Islands. We have seen an increase in Vog conditions over the last 6 months or so when Kilauea began a more active erruption cycle.
Vog can have an impact on people with respiratory illnesses. I myself have mild asthma. I know on days where the Vog is heaviest, my breathing is a little more labored during exercise. Vog also can significantly reduce visibility in the islands. It is not uncommon for our towering mountains and volcanos to be obscured by the thick air.
The one positive about vog is that it will often produce some pretty surreal sunsets. My sister in law Carla was taking wedding photos in South Maui earlier this week when she snapped this photo of the evening sun. The north east trade winds returned to the islands on Monday clearing out the haze. We are back under normal conditions with our usual clear blue skies.
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