Horrifying footage of a fast moving blaze bearing down on fire crews on the outskirts of Sydney offers an insight into why Harbour City locals could be dealing with blankets of thick smoke for months.
Experts are predicting Australia will continue to burn throughout January and February – and possibly into Autumn as well.
Firefighters from Menai on the south coast of NSW shared footage of themselves barely escaping a raging fire on Thursday which was approaching Orangeville, west of Camden – less than 70km from the CBD.
The video showed a wall of flames closing in on them as embers flew in every direction before the crews eventually were forced to retreat.
Before and after shots of Sydney show just how much of an impact the smog is having on air quality
Sydney’s harbour became filled with hazy smoke about 3pm on Thursday. Pictured: The Harbour Bridge covered in thick smoke
Smoke haze from bushfires in New South Wales blankets the CBD in Sydney during a couple’s wedding shoot on Thursday, December 5
Within seconds, the fire travelled from beyond the trees to within metres of the crew, and embers were threatening to spark new blazes in every potential escape route.
It is one of 110 fires burning across the state, with several contributing to the thick haze of smoke that has plagued Sydney for days on end.
The NSW fires are currently burning on the north and south coasts, as well as in the Blue Mountains and Warragamba Dam – essentially surrounding the city.
Fire authorities say the blazes won’t be easing any time soon – and expect to battling them at least until the end of summer.
The biggest danger period may be yet to come
Will Steffen, Climate Councillor
‘They won’t have this out for days, weeks, months,’ Shane Fitzsimmons, the commissioner of the NSW rural fire services, correctly predicted three weeks ago.
‘Unfortunately the forecast is nothing but above-average temperatures and below-average rainfall over the next few months… It’s going to be a long, difficult fire season.’
The Bureau of Meteorology said ‘hazardous’ smoke billowing toward Sydney could linger in the city basin until Tuesday.
But Sydneysiders have been warned the smoke won’t entirely disappear until all of the fires have completely burned out.
Meteorologist Sarah Chadwick told Daily Mail Australia Sydney locals were in it for the long haul, with the smog expected to continue into January.
‘We’re going to see the winds turn easterly over the weekend, which could reduce the smoke for a little but, but it wont be sustained until we put the fires out,’ she said.
‘The main thing we need is a good soaking, and we don’t have any on the horizon at the moment.
‘Through December, we’re more likely to see less than average rain. [The issue] is not quite as pronounced in January, but [the rainfall levels are] still quite low.’
Ms Chadwick said the amount of smoke sitting over the city depended on current fire activity, and she did not believe anyone could give a definitive answer on when the blazes raging across the state might be extinguished.
This picture taken on December 4, 2019 shows a passenger aircraft flying across the setting sun in Sydney, as smoke haze continues
A traveller captures thick smoke covering Sydney CBD and harbour, created by the surrounding bushfires
Thick clouds of dangerous smoke have choked Sydney as two raging bushfires burn on the city’s fringe. Pictured: People wearing masks in Sydney on Thursday as they desperately try to protect themselves from the harmful particles filling the air.
The environment department says this season’s bushfire emergency has caused ‘some of the highest air pollution ever seen in NSW’.
‘NSW has experienced elevated levels of pollutants as a result of smoke from the bushfire emergency, and dust caused by the severe drought,’ a spokesman said.
‘NSW has experienced other periods of poor air quality that lasted several weeks, including the 1994 Sydney bushfires and the Black Christmas bushfires of December 2001 to January 2002.
‘This event, however, is the longest and the most widespread in our records.’
Climate councillor Professor Will Steffen said his primary concern is that summer has barely even started.
‘It is only the beginning of summer, which means the biggest danger period may yet be to come,’ he said.
NSW Rural Fire Service crews protect properties on Waratah Road and Kelyknack Road as the Three Mile fire approaches Mangrove Mountain north of Sydney, Thursday, December 5
Ryan Chisnall of NZ (pictured) plays with a face mask on a smoggy hazy course during the 1st round of the 2019 Emirates Australian Open
Min Woo Lee of Australia plays out of the rough on the 18th hole during day one of the 2019 Australian Golf Open with orange dust and smoke all around him
Particles in the smoke are so small they can infiltrate people’s lungs and blood streams, increasing the risk of health issues.
People have been relying on paper or cloth masks to protect themselves, with hundreds of Sydneysiders pictured wearing them in the city over recent days.
But Menzies Institute for Medical Research Associate Professor Fay Johnston described them as ‘close to useless’.
‘That really won’t protect you from the health effects of smoke because it’s the finer particles that we worry about with smoke, so they’re not a good solution all in all,’ she said.
For masks to be effective, there needs to be an airtight seal around the mouth and nose – which is almost impossible to achieve.
Golfer Ryan Chisnell was one of a handful of players at the Australian Golf Open who wore a mask throughout the tournament to protect from the smoke.
Pedestrians wore masks to protect themselves from the hazardous smoke on Thursday as they walked through the heavily polluted CBD.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge is shrouded in haze in Sydney, Australia, on Thursday, Nov. 21
Former Australian Open champion Matt Jones said: ‘Even when I played in China I didn’t think it was like this at all. Definitely not in Malaysia… I’ve never experienced anything like this.’
Office employees working in the CBD told Daily Mail Australia the smoke infiltrated their highrise building.
‘It made me feel claustrophobic… I felt like I’m asthmatic even though I’m not at all,’ one said.
‘It honestly feels apocalyptic in Sydney at the moment.’
Walking in Sydney’s thick smog is the same as smoking a full PACK of cigarettes
By Alisha Rouse
Air pollution has reached such critical levels that breathing it is the equivalent of smoking an entire pack of cigarettes.
The levels of life-threatening particles in the air on Wednesday are worse than those seen in Beijing, Tehran and Karachi.
Hazardous conditions created by the raging bushfires have left Sydney residents breathing in dangerous levels of smoke, with some particles small enough to enter the lungs.
Data from the NSW Environment Department show levels of PM2.5 – a particle so fine that humans inhale it into their bodies – had reached ‘hazardous’ levels.
This is the worst classification of air pollution, and poses an immediate risk to health.
Sydney’s south-west experienced the worst pollution on Wednesday morning, registering levels of 590 PM2.5, 23 times higher than what is safe.
This is the same as smoking 26 cigarettes in one single day.
A safe level is around 25 PM2.5, according to the World Health Organisation.
Smoke particle pollution readings in Sydney are normally between 5 and 8 PM.2.5.
The situation was also critical in Sydney’s east, which experienced levels of 339 PM2.5, also categorised as ‘hazardous’.
Each cigarette represents one cigarette smoked by a person walking in NSW’s suffocating air. This is based on research saying that levels of 22 PM2.5 is equivalent to smoking one cigarette per day. For Sydney’s south-west, levels have been 23 times that.
Competitors and staff at the 2019 Australian Golf Open were forced to wear face masks due to the terrible pollution
NSW Rural Fire Service crews protect properties on Waratah Road and Kelyknack Road as the Three Mile fire approaches Mangrove Mountain north of Sydney, Thursday, December 5
Even when I played in China… it wasn’t like this
Matt Jones, Former Australian Open champion
The pollution that has settled over most parts of the state is actually equivalent to smoking a packet of cigarettes in a day, according to the Environment Department.
The worst affected area was the Hunter Region on Thursday at 36 cigarettes for the day, while being outdoors in Sydney’s southwest and east did about the same amount of damage as 29 smokes.
Already, fires have burned through one million hectares in New South Wales, which is almost as much as what was burned during the last three fire seasons combined.
The thick smoke settled over the Harbour Bridge on Thursday evening and was broken up by a small section of blue sky
Bizarre ‘bushfire selfie’ trend sees people showing off their protective face masks to stop them from inhaling hazardous smoke
A bizarre selfie trend has emerged as bushfires raging across New South Wales push a hazardous smoke haze over Sydney.
As the thick smog was blown across Sydney from a fire burning near the Blue Mountains on Thursday, those living in the Harbour City took to social media to showcase their wide array of protective masks.
The drastic measures came as the Bureau of Meteorology revealed the dangerous smoke was set to linger in the city basin until Saturday.
Sydneysiders have adopted a bizzare new selfie trend as bushfires raging across New South Wales push a hazardous smoke haze over the Harbour City
While one Sydneysider chose to wear a brightly coloured pink mask, another wore what appeared to be a blue doctor’s mask to keep the smoke and ash at bay.
One resident, meanwhile, simply opted to cover their face with a white headscarf.
Sydney’s east and southwest were rated as ‘hazardous’ for air pollution on Thursday while northwest Sydney was between ‘very poor’ and ‘hazardous’.
The lower Hunter and Central Coast also had hazardous air quality.
The environment department says this season’s bushfire emergency has caused ‘some of the highest air pollution ever seen in NSW’.
‘Recently NSW has experienced elevated levels of pollutants as a result of smoke from the bushfire emergency and dust caused by the severe drought,’ a spokesman said.
The drastic protective measures came as the Bureau of Meteorology warned the haze was set to remain in the city basin until Saturday
Sydney’s east and southwest were rated as ‘hazardous’ for air pollution on Thursday while northwest Sydney was between ‘very poor’ and ‘hazardous’ as smoke from fires in New South Wales converged on the city (pictured the smoke at Gospers Mountain north-west of the city)
The smoke was so unwelcoming one social media user said Sydney University was ‘like a ghost town’
One social media user revealed they were even wearing their mask on public transport as the smoke hovered over Sydney
‘NSW has experienced other periods of poor air quality that lasted several weeks, including the 1994 Sydney bushfires and the Black Christmas bushfires of December 2001 to January 2002.
‘This event, however, is the longest and the most widespread in our records.’
Wind gusts of up to 80km/h have been experienced across the ranges with Friday expected to be worse again.
The environment department says this season’s bushfire emergency has caused ‘some of the highest air pollution ever seen in NSW’.
Almost the entire coastal area of NSW and much of the state’s northeast have a severe fire danger rating for Friday.
Total fire bans are in place for the far south coast and the Monaro alpine, southern ranges, Illawarra-Shoalhaven and the central ranges.
The same restrictions are in place for Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter, northern slopes and north western regions.