Sydney’s air quality is three times too toxic as ‘hazardous’ blanket of smoke covers the city – and it could last for DAYS
- A thick layer of hazardous smoke has blanketed Sydney on Monday morning
- Smoke haze is double the hazardous levels, with some areas at three times
- The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said the smoke is expected to last for days
Sydney has been blanketed in a thick layer of smoke that may not leave the for a few days.
The haze, caused by hazard reduction burns outside the city, has left the air quality more than three times more toxic than it should be.
The NSW Government’s Air Quality Index (AQI) shows swathes of Sydney have levels of particles in the air that are almost three times too high.
If the index reaches 200, the air quality is deemed hazardous and not safe for lung or heart problems. In Sydney’s south-west the index has reached highs of 781.
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said the smoke is expected to last for days due to the lack of wind in the city
A thick layer of hazardous smoke has blanketed Sydney on Monday due to hazard reduction burns
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said the smoke is expected to last for days due to the lack of wind in the city.
‘The lack of wind and, at the moment, an inversion layer which is effectively trapping the smoke in the city,’ RFS spokesman Chris Garlick told news.com.au.
‘That’s expected to lift later, but the winds are not strong enough to push smoke around.’
The biggest burn is currently at the Royal National Park in Heathcote where 160 hectares are being burned.
Other hazardous reduction activities are also currently taking place in the Southern Highlands, 110 km south-west of Sydney, and at Colo Heights in the city’s north west.
The biggest burn is currently at the Royal National Park in Heathcote where 160 hectares are being burned