Sydney’s air quality worst in the world due to bushfires

A hazardous smoke haze blanketing Sydney has dragged our air quality well below that of world pollution capitals Beijing and Jakarta. Health authorities have a stern warning for asthma sufferers.

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Sydney’s air quality is today the worst in the world at almost 30 times safe levels.

Health authorities have urged asthma sufferers across Sydney to stay inside as a thick blanket of bushfire smoke settles across the region.

Sydney’s air quality on Tuesday is among the lowest in the world – with NSW Environment’s air quality measurements reading 2334 at around 9am in Sydney’s North-West - almost 20 times worse than Jakarta and Beijing.

The reading makes the city’s air quality the worst in the world and twice as bad as Kolkata’s which today sits at 999, according to the real-time Air Quality Index.

With safe levels sitting at between 34-66, residents are being urged to take care.

Smoke blowing in from the north has settled on Sydney, causing health issues for many with breathing problems. Picture: John Grainger

Jakarta’s notoriously polluted air today measures at 119 while Beijing’s measures at 155.

The thick haze, blown in from a fire raging at Wollemi National Park, could be smelt and seen Sydney-wide on Tuesday morning.

Sydney’s east, northwest slopes and parts of the southwest are choking through hazardous levels while other parts of the state are struggling through very poor and poor ratings.

The level of PM2.5 and PM10 particles sits at 2334 particulates per cubic metre of air in Sydney’s North-West, 540 in Sydney’s East and 641 in the Central Coast.

The particles can trigger breathing problems in people with asthma, emphysema and angina.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge is almost invisible behind the smoke. Picture: John Grainger

Those with respiratory or heart conditions are being urged to stay indoors with windows closed, use reliever medication where necessary, avoid vigorous exercise and cover their nose and mouth with a mask.

Asthmatics aren’t the only ones to struggle through the haze, with the particles causing sore eyes, nose and throat for others.

Symptoms can last for several days.

Anyone with asthma or a lung condition who develops symptoms such as shortness of breath, coughing or wheezing is urged to follow their asthma action plan.

Gabriele Branescu, duty forecaster at the Bureau of Metereology, says the haze will persist through to the afternoon when it should subside before picking up again on Wednesday.