Hawaii – The Global Laboratory for Recovery of the Climate

Michal Kravčík 11.08.2024 01:00 Hawaii is a unique land. In addition to being located in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, it can be characterized by one key peculiarity: The largest island , covering an area of about 3,700 square miles, is home to 10 different precipitation belts. On the western coast, there are areas where it does not rain more than 20 inches per year, while on the eastern coast, some areas receive more than 250 inches of rain per year. Such an extreme variability of rainfall in such a small area is not only caused by orographic terrain , with a difference in altitude by up to 4000 meters, but is also a result of the intensive production of sensible heat ,from a dehydrated landscape. Both the areas with high rainfall and the dry foothills of volcanoes are significantly damaged by water erosion due to the degraded landscapes.