Remember Vog?

What is Vog?

Very simply, vog is volcanic air pollution. While it is not quite as ugly as the urban brown clouds found in many cities, it can have a big impact on people who are sensitive to it. Visitors may not even notice vog, but if you plan to visit the Hawaii Volcanoes National Park, you will experience it while driving through the park. The articles on this page range from very simple and practical steps to reduce these effects to scientific reports on vog.

Madam Pele is a mysterious goddess. She can sleep for years, but when she wakes up, one of the ways she lets everyone know it is by sending a plume of sulfur dioxide into the atmosphere. Sulfur dioxide reacts with other gases, moisture, dust and sunlight to form vog. Molten lava flowing down the flanks of Kilauea often pours into the sea, where it interacts with sea water to produce hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and other chemicals. The volcano ended it's eruption in September 2018, and the weather on the Big Island is back to beautiful blue sky and fresh air.

As of Early September 2018, No Vog!

An Example of Extreme Vog on February 21, 2008 On this day, Shirley and I were driving along highway 11 near Keauhou, and we could barely make out the structures of Kailua-Kona and the cruise ship in the bay. The horizon is not visible at all.

As of Early September 2018, No Vog! There is a crusie ship on both of these photos. In this photo, there is no vog.