Why Sydney smells like smoke this morning as a thick cloud blankets the city

Sydney has woken up to a haze of thick smoke blanketing the skies after firefighters spent the weekend backburning.

A number of hazard reduction burns scheduled to be conducted Friday were postponed due to the weather and pushed back to Sunday.

Many residents had a sleepless night due to the strong smell of the smoke which also triggered the activation of fire alarms across the city.

It has also affected visibility at Sydney Airport, while motorists also warned to take care on the roads during the peak morning commute.

More hazard reduction burns are scheduled for Monday.

The smoke will start to clear later in the day but authorities have warned that the smell may linger across Sydney and the NSW Central Coast until mid-week.

The smoke from hazard reduction burns is affecting large swathes of the harbour city

‘Smoke from the burns is likely to settle over much of Sydney on Sunday afternoon and Monday morning,’ the NSW Rural Fire Service said on Monday morning.

‘Smoke is expected to remain over Sydney and the Central Coast early next week.’

The most impacted areas from the hazard reduction burns are the Sutherland shire in Sydney’s south, the Hawkesbury region in the north-west, along with Ku-ring-gai, Hornsby and the Central Coast in the north.

The air quality in in the city’s north-west, the central-east, and the south-west has been rated ‘poor or worse’ by the NSW Department of the Environment.

Health authorities urge residents to remain indoors and avoid vigorous outdoor activity.

The smoke haze blanketing Sydney on Monday morning is due to hazard reduction burns