#Hawaii Island

Published by the University of Hawai‘i Sea Grant College Program, this first-of-its-kind report uses plain language, along with easy-to-interpret maps and figures, to summarize statewide rainfall, temperature, and drought conditions over the past year.

Join Hawaiian Volcano Observatory staff and its partners Hawaiʻi Volcanoes National Park, University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo and Hawaiʻi County Civil Defense in January 2026 for a series of programs around the island that will discuss eruptions and earthquakes, how Hawaiian Volcano Observatory scientists monitor them and the hazards associated with them.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health has confirmed a case of mumps on Hawaiʻi Island. The case is community-acquired and not travel-related, suggesting that mumps may currently be circulating on the island.

A massive fumigation removed 144 tons of potential breeding sites for the invasive coconut rhinoceros beetle, marking a significant step in preventing its establishment on Hawai‘i Island.

Gov. Josh Green said shortly after 6 p.m. that buoys off Midway Atoll indicated that the wave measured 6 feet from peak to trough, “so a 3-foot wave riding on top of the ocean.”

A team at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa developed an artificial intelligence system that uses multiple types of sensors to detect and prevent potential crashes at intersections.

While old-fashioned eyes and a notebook are used when field teams are near a volcano, modern volcano observatories also use rapidly collected data and computers to support monitoring. Hawaiian Volcano Observatory computers are ‘trained’ to look for activity and send alerts when a volcano is changing or becoming active.

Ellison Onizuka Kona International Airport at Keāhole (KOA) on the island of Hawai‘i reopened at noon today following a temporary closure this morning to repair an asphalt crack.

The Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources took part in a second collaborative coral restoration project over the weekend in the waters of Kealakekua Bay, on the Kona side of Hawai‘i Island.

Seismic activity at the summit and along the southwest Koaʻe fault system continues following an intrusion of magma into the area at the end of January, the Hawaiian Volcano Observatory reports. The HVO says despite recent activity, Kīlauea volcano is not currently erupting.

Hawaiian Electric Co. is conducting an inventory audit of attachments on utility poles throughout Maui, and Oʻahu and Hawai‘i island as well, according to an announcement. Work will begin in parts of West and Central Maui and continue later in South Maui and around the island through November.

Ongoing El Niño climate conditions have not generated as much dry weather as expected in the Hawaiian Islands, the Hawaiʻi Drought Council reports.

The University of Hawaiʻi is in the initial stages of establishing a space engineering and instrument development center at the UH Institute for Astronomy’s facilities on the UH Hilo campus, thanks to general fund support from the Hawaiʻi State Legislature and Hawaiʻi Gov. Josh Green.

In one of the largest philanthropic donations of its kind in Hawaiʻi, 282 acres was donated in Waimea on Hawaiʻi Island for affordable housing.

Approximately 122,277 acres of federal, state, private, and public lands are being proposed as critical habitat for 12 species, all found only on Hawaiʻi island. 

The Waiea NAR contains moist koa and ‘ōhi‘a dominated forests on the western flank of Mauna Loa within the South Kona district. 

The first non-chemical sunscreen dispenser in a Hawai‘i State Park was unveiled Friday morning. It’s a nod to the growing movement and legislation to get ocean users and beach goers to only apply mineral-based sun protection – to protect sensitive coral reef systems around the state.

Ebb & Flow Arts presents its first public events since the pandemic began. They will occur on Saturday, Aug. 28, 7:30 p.m. and a repeat show, Sunday, Aug. 29, 3 p.m.

The spread of a fungal disease killing off hundreds of thousands of mature ‘ōhi‘a trees on Hawai‘i Island could be exacerbated by the presence of animals with hooves, according to a new collaborative study led by a geographer at the University of Hawai‘i at Hilo.

A rapid increase of visitors is being reported at the historic Pololū Valley in North Kohala on Hawaiʻi Island where community members and industry officials are exploring ways to mitigate impacts to natural and cultural resources.