Why Sydney smells of smoke on Thursday morning
Sydneysiders woke to the smell of smoke and a moderate blanket of haze on Thursday morning. Here’s why.
Smoke from controlled burns has blanketed Sydney in haze on Thursday morning.
Residents of the city’s inner suburbs reported a strong odour of smoke as early as 6am on Thursday.
The NSW Rural Fire Service is doing hazard reduction burns across the region, and with only light breezes recorded, the smoke is not going anywhere fast.
Air quality gauges at Richmond, Penrith, Macquarie Park, Bargo and Kembla Grange have all dropped from good to “fair” ratings.
Sensitive groups of people need to reduce outdoor physical activity if they are short of breath or coughing, though people not predisposed to respiratory issues do not need to do anything differently.
The Penrith air quality readings show the amount of particles in the air spiked about 7am on Thursday.
Fire services carry out various types of hazard reduction, including controlled burning, mechanical clearing such as slashing undergrowth and reducing the ground fuel by hand.
Originally published as Why Sydney smells of smoke on Thursday morning
