Wildfires put Sydney's air quality at par with New Delhi

Strange smoke from northern bushfires engulfed Sydney on Tuesday, sending significant portions of the city into index ranges comparable to those of New Delhi, one of the busiest capital cities in the world. As a result, Sydney’s air quality fell to some of the lowest in the world. Grey clouds hung over the famous Opera House and Harbour Bridge, with smoke visible in the air, despite the fact that smog is uncommon in Sydney, a city better known for its beaches and blue skies. After 5 p.m. (0600 GMT), the air quality index in some parts of the city just north of the downtown reached 161, which is a level at which prolonged outdoor exercise is advised. But there could be relief in sight, with the Rural Fire Service (RFS) saying southerly winds should begin to dispel the smog by evening. The smoke had drifted hundreds of kilometers south from fires burning across roughly 136,000 hectares (336,000 acres), an area almost the size of Greater London, the RFS said. Authorities have warned of a high-risk bush fire season in Australia this summer after two quiet seasons, compared with the 2019-2020 “Black Summer” fires that destroyed an area the size of Turkey and killed 33 people. Energy company Santos halted work on a gas project northwest of Sydney as a huge bushfire raged out of control in the Pilliga forest south of Narrabri, a town that is about 420 km (261 miles) away. “The fires in the Pilliga are of enormous concern,” a company spokesperson said in a statement. “While there is no risk to, or because of, our facilities, we have shut in our operations for the time being.” In the Indian capital, where index levels range between 74 and 225, scientists recently planned to turn to cloud seeding to ameliorate matters. (with inputs from Reuters)