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Hawaii-Pacific Highlights of the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment from Pacific RISA on Vimeo.
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The Pacific RISA emphasizes integrated research that addresses real-world problems. Our work includes the downscaling of climate projections for specific island locations. Unavailable to date, this is critical for island climate adaptation planning. Utilizing these projections, hydrological researchers… Read More
At 63.8 million square miles (165.25 million square kilometers), the Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world, covering approximately 33% of the Earth’s total surface [1]. The vast ocean contains approximately 30,000 islands divided between the… Read More
The Pacific Regional Integrated Sciences and Assessments (Pacific RISA) program strives to enhance Pacific Island communities’ abilities to understand, plan for, and respond to a changing climate. We do this by emphasizing the engagement of communities, governments, businesses,… Read More
Hawaii-Pacific Highlights of the 2014 U.S. National Climate Assessment from Pacific RISA on Vimeo.
More videos
Planning for the second Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) has begun, and we would value hearing your perspectives about the content of the next assessment.
Regional Survey
Do you live in Hawai‘i or the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands? We invite you to participate in a short survey on the types of climate change information that you most need. The survey will only take about 3 min. to complete. The results from the survey will be used in determining the topics to include in the next Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment and a regional technical input to the U.S. National Climate Assessment.
**Click here to begin the survey**
The Pacific Islands Regional Climate Assessment (PIRCA) has launched its new website at PIRCA.org. The website provides a wealth of information and resources about climate change in Hawai‘i and the U.S.-Affiliated Pacific Islands (USAPI).
The new website makes it easier to access the 2012 PIRCA Report, Climate Change and Pacific Islands: Indicators and Impacts and its findings, case studies, and figures. More than 100 scientific experts and practitioners contributed to the report, an integrated regional assessment that serves as technical input to the Third U.S. National Climate Assessment. The 2012 PIRCA report examines climate change impacts in Hawai‘i and the USAPI and assesses the adaptive capacity of Pacific Island communities.
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On February 3rd, Republic of the Marshall Islands (RMI) President, Dr. Hilda Heine, declared a state of emergency in response to intensifying drought conditions across the country. President Heine’s declaration anticipates that the drought will worsen, based on what is known about how El Niño affects rainfall in RMI. The climate outlook for a continued strong El Niño means the drought is likely to last through May 2016. As a result, RMI faces potentially serious consequences for public health, food supply, and economy.
The El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO), which is driving the drought, is an ocean-atmosphere climate cycle in the equatorial Pacific Ocean that is characterized by El Nino and La Nina phases, which recur approximately every three to seven years. Since December 2015, the Pacific has experienced an El Niño event that is among the three strongest on record. A recent policy analysis paper from the East-West Center and the University of Hawaii’s IPRC explained the ENSO phenomenon and this year’s El Niño impacts and opportunities for preparation in greater depth.
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There is currently a strong El Niño event occurring, for which there are significant impacts around Hawaii and the Pacific Islands, including extended drought conditions, enhanced risk of damaging tropical cyclones, increased risk of coral bleaching, and possible spread of vector borne disease and illness.
The evolution and duration, strength and impacts of individual El Niño events can vary, in some cases greatly. This makes constant monitoring and awareness extremely important for decision makers across multiple sectors. Impacts also vary by island, and these seven fact sheets outline different physical impacts on different sectors and projected trends in relevant climate variables for Hawaii, American Sāmoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, the eastern and western Federated States of Micronesia, the Republic of Palau, and the Republic of the Marshall Islands.
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Na makani paio lua o Kawaihae.
The two conflicting winds of Kawaihae: the mumuku wind from the uplands, and the naulu wind, which brings the rains to Kawaihae (Pukui 1983)
Puʿukohola, or Hill of the Humpbacked Whale, is a historic site on the Kona-Kohala coast overlooking Kawaihae Bay on the Big Island of Hawaiʿi. The park, which attracts over 270,000 visitors per year (Ben Saldua, pers. comm., 1/8/14), is made up of Puʿukohola Heiau (temple); smaller and older Mailekini Heiau, which was later converted into a fort; the ruins of submerged Hale-o-Kapuni Heiau, which was believed to be dedicated to the worship of sharks; the John Young Homestead; and the central courtyard or Pelekane. Because of its historical and cultural importance, Puʿukohola Heiau and the surrounding area was designated a National Historic Site in 1972, under the administration of the National Park Service (NPS). The heiau is considered a highly significant cultural site because it is the only structure in the archipelago that is directly linked to the unification of the Hawaiian Islands and the founding of the Hawaiian Kingdom under Kamehameha the Great in the early nineteenth century (Greene 1993; NPS 2004).
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Pacific RISA Research Fellow Laura Brewington and Project Assistant Krista Jaspers recently attended the “Preserving Freshwater Resources and Minimizing the Impacts of Drought” workshop in Pago Pago, American Samoa. The workshop was held on July 17 and 18, 2014 at the Tauese P.F. Sunia Ocean Center, which houses the visitor’s center for the National Marine Sanctuary of American Samoa. The U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), is conducting a series of activities to enhance scientific and technical capacity to support climate change adaptation in the Pacific Small Island Developing States (PSIDS). These activities include the development and delivery of new or enhanced products and services that focus on climate issues critical to the region and respond to unique user needs. Preserving freshwater resources and minimizing the impacts of drought has been identified as an issue of concern.
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