Sydney covered by thick fog, smoke from hazard reduction burns




© AAP
A ferry and the Sydney Opera House are seen through smoke haze and fog this morning in Sydney.

Sydney has been blanketed by fog this morning with drivers warned about poor visibility and ferry services cancelled.

The Bureau of Meteorology (BOM) has warned that road conditions will be dangerous and motorists are advised to take extreme care. 

“Fog developed in the western suburbs, and it’s currently making its way eastward and moving over eastern suburbs, so expecting driving conditions to be a little bit hazardous,” meteorologist James Taylor said.

“When we get cool air and clear sky it’s good for trapping smoke down close to the surface, it’s also very good conditions for fog formation.”

F3 Parramatta River, F4 Pyrmont Bay and F8 Cockatoo Island ferries have resumed after services were stopped earlier this morning because of fog.

The Electrical Trades Union this morning advised members to down tools if they are affected by smoke.

The fog has started to clear but is being replaced with smoke from hazard reduction burns.

A poor air quality alert has been issued for Sydney’s east and south-west, with ‘poor’ or ‘very poor’ conditions at Chullora, Randwick, Earlwood and Lidcombe. 

People in those areas are advised to avoid outdoor exercise, while those who are sensitive to smoke should stay indoors as much as possible, with windows and doors closed. 

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) is carrying out hazard burns in areas including Sutherland, Campbelltown, the northern beaches and the Blue Mountains. 

A spokesperson for the RFS said they were “conscious of smoke impact” but that it was important to conduct these hazard reduction burns to areas not affected by the 2019-2020 bushfire season. 

“We’ve worked closely with NSW Health to try to reduce the impact of smoke across, in particular the Sydney basin, but also surrounding areas,” Angela Burford said. 

Larger planned burns have been broken up and carried out across a number of days in an effort to reduce the smoke impact. 

Smoke is likely to linger for most of this week, depending on the rain forecast for mid-week which will affect the RFS’ hazard reduction efforts.  

Source: Thanks msn.com