WikiWiki Solar

You’ve noticed it, rains are coming heavier, trades are feeling weaker, and the dry spells are stretching longer than they used to. Chances are, even your Tūtū talks about how different the skies feel now. And it’s not just in your head. According to new research from UH Mānoa, a shifting Pacific climate pattern is bringing real changes to how, when, and where the rain falls on our islands. That matters. Especially here, where we depend on every drop. And as uncertainty grows, more of us are turning to solar panel installations on Maui as a way to stay rooted and ready. The Weather’s Changing And It’s Not Just El Niño For years, most of us on the Valley Isle have blamed unusual weather on El Niño. But a new study from UH Mānoa reveals there’s another player in the mix, the Pacific Meridional Mode (PMM). When the PMM goes “positive,” we get intense rain during springtime, like back in 2018, when flooding hit areas we hadn’t seen flooded in years. When it turns “negative,” the dry spells...

We’ve always known our Valley Isle is more than a destination — it’s home, it’s soul, it’s connection. But ever since the fires in 2023, something’s shifted. Many of us carry a heavy feeling now, a quiet, aching anxiety about the climate.  We hear it in conversations at the farmer’s market, feel it during dry, windy days. That anxiety is real. And one way more of us are choosing to respond? Installing solar panels in Maui —to find peace, protect what matters, and live with more intention. When Fires Burn, Fear Stays Behind A national Yale survey showed that 76% of island residents were concerned about global warming in 2024, a 6 percentage-point rise since 2022. That was the highest in the state — 7% more than the average across all five Hawai‘i counties. Over the last ten years, concern in Maui has risen by 10%. We’re not surprised. We live here, too. We’ve watched the sky turn orange. We’ve heard stories of evacuations, felt the unease every time the wind picks up. This fear does...