Brisbane smoke haze persist for fourth day as Upper Brookfield hazard reduction burn continues

Brisbane GPs are being inundated with locals struggling to breathe as Day 4 of the Great Smoke Haze combines with an increase in Covid and flu cases. Here’s what you should do.

• Temps: Coldest May in 70 years

Brisbane GPs are being inundated with asthma patients struggling to breathe properly as smoke continues to blanket the city.

Royal Australian College of General Practitioners vice president and Brisbane GP Dr Bruce Willett said it was vital sufferers had asthma management plans in place with their doctors.

“We are seeing an increase in respiratory conditions and of course, it’s coming on the back of significant amounts (of people infected with) flu, RSV, and still, Covid.

“The increase in respiratory (concerns are) as a result of the combination of the smoke, and the viruses all going around at once.

Dr Willett said although the smoke could make symptoms of the flu or Covid worse it was asthma patients he held the concern for.

“The things for those folks is to stay indoors, you can close windows and doors and, you know, airconditioning on if you need.

“Some people now have air purifiers and they are recommended.

The other thing is, just to remind people to, when they see their doctor to have a chat about is having an asthma management plan. It’s so it often gets forgotten.”

Emergency departments across the southeast have not reported an increase in patients with respiratory conditions that could be attributed with the smoke.

DAY 4 OF BRISBANE’S GREAT SMOKE HAZE: WHAT IS GOING ON?

The smoke haze over Brisbane on Wednesday morning. Picture: Steve Pohlner

The Greater Brisbane region is blanketed in thick smoke for a fourth day due to a hazard reduction burn that has been going since Sunday.

The burn operation at Upper Brookfield finished at 1pm on Tuesday and a QFES spokesman said their control centre had been removed from the site as Queensland Parks continued monitoring the fire.

QFES updated their smoke warning at 7:24am saying it would impact residents of Brisbane, Moreton Bay, Ipswich, Redlands, Logan, and Gold Coast.

Large smoke haze over Brisbane this morning ..
Particularly strong smelling in the CBD 😷 area
Feel for those with breathing issues… Asthma etc.. pic.twitter.com/FcrZfoXrVm

— STEVE HEWLETT 🏇🎣 🛥📻🏃‍♂️👱‍♀️ (@stevejoseph69) May 30, 2023

The air quality in Brisbane on Tuesday was twice as bad as that in Dehli.

Today the Department of Environment and Science recorded a PM2.5 level of 103.4µg/m3, more than 20 times the recommended level.

It was the third day in a row the concentration of the pollution particle in the air around Brisbane measured above 100µg/m3.

On Monday 139.4µg/m3 was recorded at Upper Kedron and on Tuesday at Deagon recorded a 103.9µg/m³ PM2.5 concentration.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends 24-hour average exposures should not exceed 15 µg/m3 more than 3 – 4 days per year.

Senior meteorologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, Kim Wong, said a number of factors, including wind direction and colder than usual mornings, were contributing to the ongoing smoke haze.

“We’re expecting the winds to turn around a little bit more northerly,” she said, adding it should provide some relief from the smoke this afternoon.

“While we’ve had that sort of westerly wind it has been blowing the smoke from the fire site towards the city.”

Smoke haze continues to cover Brisbane despite the end of the hazard reduction burn. Picture: Liam Kidston

Below average morning temperatures have caused cold air to sink to the surface, trapping the smoke below warmer air above it, in what is known as a temperature inversion.

“So we would expect the smoke to rise up a little bit from the surface and get a bit more smoke ventilation as we head through the course of today once it starts to warm up a little,” Ms Wong said.

In response to Brisbane’s smoke The Australian Lung Foundation released a statement highlighting the importance of taking precautions during hazard reduction burns.

“When breathed in, these particles (which can include ultrafine particulate matter known as PM2.5) can go deep into the lungs, enter the blood and travel throughout the body.”

“For people living with any kind of lung condition, including Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) and asthma, small elevations in PM2.5 can make symptoms much worse,” it said.

They advised seeking out cleaner airspaces through closing doors and windows early in the evening to minimise smoke entering the house, or considering indoor air quality purification like HEPA filters.

A hazard reduction burn at Upper Brookfield blanketed the city in smoke. Picture: Liam Kidston

Brisbane Region Rural Fire Service Bushfire Mitigation Manager Inspector Shaune Toohey said that hazard reduction burns will continue around the Southeast in the coming weeks.

Mr Toohey explained that a high pressure system around Southeast Queensland provided an opportunity to complete those burns before bushfire season.

“We have about two weeks to get all this through before conditions are too dry again so it is a very limited and very finite timeline,” he said.