As firefighters continue to battle the 100-plus bushfires in NSW’s Blue Mountains and Hawkesbury regions, a layer of thick smoke has descended on Sydney.
While smoke from the fires have affected rural NSW and Sydney for a while now, on Thursday afternoon the smoke appeared to be an ominous amber colour.
According to the Bureau of Meteorology, the smoke “will improve overnight but will persist Friday, especially in the west,” with conditions set to get better over the weekend.
All of the Greater Sydney Region, as well as the majority of eastern NSW is currently under a total fire ban. According to information from the NSW Rural Fire Service, several areas have been given ‘high’, ‘very high’ and ‘severe’ fire danger ratings.
Emily Smith lost everything in NSW bushfires. Post continues below.
Twitter has been flooded with users sharing video and photo footage of the eerie haze, with some residents also reporting sights of falling ash and charcoal leaves.
One Twitter user described the smoke as looking “apocalyptic”, with another saying “everything looks like hell”.
These 11 photos show the scale of the air pollution.
Top Comments
Whilst that is very upsetting and unpleasant for Sydney, the real people doing it tough are the ones actually directly affected by the fires. The news needs to stop seeing everything through a Sydney-centric filter: the greater tragedy are those losing their homes and livelihoods due to the fires, not Sydney people who are suffering the secondary effect of having much of the state burning. Most Australians don't live in Sydney. Let's hear more about them.