Air quality ‘very poor’ as smoke haze chokes Melbourne for third day straight
A severe thunderstorm that lashed Melbourne and cleared the city’s smoke haze has soaked some fire-ravaged parts of Victoria — but authories say the downpour could create even more treacherous conditions.
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Dangerous storms that lashed Melbourne with downpours and hail have made their way to some fire-ravaged parts of Victoria, creating even more treacherous conditions.
Train services on Mernda and Hurstbridge lines have resumed after an earlier fault, but commuters are warned to expect heavy delays to linger.
Brimbank Shopping Centre was closed Wednesday afternoon after the roof of Best and Less caved in.
Broadmeadows Police also confirmed the roof of their police station caved in, but no injuries were reported.
After the fires came the rain hail #Melbourneweather pic.twitter.com/Xr0Um29DjM
— Maria Bervanakis (@bervanews) January 15, 2020
Yay!!!! It’s raining in #Melbourne! I’ve never been so happy to see (and hear) the rain!!! #Yippee #MelbourneWeather #AustraliaFires #Bushfires pic.twitter.com/vgwrYQ7DYu
— Samantha Amjadali (@sam_amjadali) January 15, 2020
Melbourne dropped 14C in just over an hour yesterday, after reaching a high of 36.8C.
Emergency Management Victoria Commissioner Andrew Crisp warned thunderstorms moving east would create new challenges for emergency services and residents as large blazes continued to burn.
“It is a safety issue for our broader community in terms of potential flash flooding,” he said.
“But its also a safety issue for our firefighters and emergency services and what they might see on the fireground itself.”
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Kevin Parkyn added that mudslides could develop quickly.
“There’s high concentrations of ash, very vulnerable landscape when it comes to short bursts of heavy rainfall, which could see very quickly mudslides developing,” he said.
“The concern is with thunderstorms that most of the time they concentrate the rain and sometimes even 10mm can cause a bit of erosion.
“Then all the debris can quickly go into the waterways. Unfortunately in 2003 we lost a firefighter to that mechanism.
“The water was flowing so quickly with debris and rocks.”
Alistair Drayton, Deputy Chief Officer of the Victoria State Emergency Service, said falling trees also posed a serious risk.
“Trees particularly that have been affected by heat over summer and are now fire affected,” he said.
“Trees are very dangerous in these types of conditions.”
Thousands of homes lost power around the city as wild weather bucketed suburbs from Lara to Chelsea and led to flash flooding.
Avalon Airport was drenched in 46mm of rain in just 30 minutes.
Strong winds also helped to clear the smoke haze that was covering the city but Melbourne’s air quality was still forecast to be poor today and to deteriorate again on Saturday.
We’re flooded pic.twitter.com/AwgeUD2agq
— Maria Bervanakis (@bervanews) January 15, 2020
HEAVY SMOKE FORCES FLIGHT CANCELLATIONS
More than 50 flights were yesterday cancelled at Melbourne Airport because of poor visibility from bushfire smoke.
The cancellations affected Qantas, Virgin and Jetstar flights.
The cancellations, delays and congestion stem from difficult flight conditions starting on Monday because of issues with visibility, according to Melbourne Airport.
A representative from AirServices Australia said visibility was as low as 1500 metres for pilots, but this has since improved to up to 3000 metres.
Airborne delays are still impacting flights into Melbourne and there are still several departure delays, the spokesperson said.
Flights have also been cancelled in Sydney and South Australia across a range of airlines.
Some flights were still able to fly into the airport, but airborne delays were still occurring.
Travellers should double check their flight details and plan ahead where possible.
Bushfire smoke has continued to cause havoc across Victoria, and authorities say any reprieve from this afternoon’s storms will be short-lived.
A third straight day of thick haze has blanketed Melbourne, with air quality levels deteriorating rapidly this morning.
The haze around the city appears less dense than it was yesterday; however, authorities are still warning people to stay indoors if possible and to avoid any vigorous exercise.
The CBD is currently rated as having “very poor” air quality after earlier being labelled “poor”.
But Melbourne’s eastern and western suburbs, including Box Hill, Footscray, Brooklyn and Mooroolbark, are all considered to be at a “hazardous” level of air pollution.
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It comes as some tradies reportedly coughed up blood on Tuesday as construction companies faced calls for all outdoor work to halt during the smoke haze.
The CFMMEU on Tuesday morning urged employers to suspend “dangerous and unhealthy” outdoor work.
It said later in the day that while most sites closed down, work carried on in some locations, including on a Southbank project where a worker was taken away in an ambulance.
Tradies were also said to be coughing up blood on another work site.
Australia Post has equipped its posties with P2 masks, and made wearing them mandatory where air quality was rated very poor or hazardous. But it stopped short of suspending deliveries.
The city’s air quality was rated between hazardous and very poor overnight Wednesday – after taking the title earlier in the week as having the worst air quality in the world.
University of Technology Sydney Associate Professor Brian Oliver found Melbourne CBD’s smoke particle pollution, called PM2.5, was equivalent to lighting up 20 cigarettes when it peaked at 412 Tuesday morning.
It was comparable to 50 cigarettes in Box Hill, where it topped 1000.
Heavy smoke was even forcing firefighters to be rotated away from the front lines.
Royal Melbourne Health respiratory medicine head Lou Irving warned those on the fire ground for more than 60 days could develop chronic bronchitis.
The haze also hampered efforts to fly medical supplies from Sale to isolated and fire-ravaged Mallacoota.
Stolen this photo from my friend Jeremy. The statues at Bourke and Swanston have been modified for current Melbourne smoke haze conditions 👠pic.twitter.com/j7TvZWJQ44
— Rosemary Walton (@rosewal) January 14, 2020
WHEN THE HAZE WILL EASE
Rain is expected to wash away some of the smoke and bring some relief.
Environmental Protection Authority’s state agency commander Stephen Lansdell said favourable weather conditions would help improve the air quality after wind changes and wet weather reached Melbourne’s western suburbs about 2pm yesterday.
But he said the smoke was expected to return by Saturday and linger for the weekend.
“On Saturday, we’re expecting a bit of a wind change that’s likely to bring that smoke back from the northeast and East Gippsland, so the north-easterly winds will bring that back,” he said.
He said people should brace for smoke haze to be a problem for multiple weeks.
“I think it’s a good reminder, hopefully these very hazardous conditions over the last couple of days will ease but the fires are going to be lasting for months to come, so we would expect to see impacts in our air quality for a long time yet.”
The weather bureau has forecast a hazy day in Melbourne with a top of 36C.
It said there was a high chance of showers and thunderstorms in the city in the afternoon and evening, with possible heavy rainfall.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said vulnerable groups included children under 14, adults over 65 and anyone with pre-existing medical conditions.
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“Those individuals need to make sure they have a plan to place to look after their health and they might even need to check in with their GP,” he said.
“When you get to the hazardous range, anyone can develop symptoms.”
Australian Medical Association federal president Dr Tony Bartone reiterated that vulnerable people such as the elderly, children and pregnant women should avoid the outdoors as much as possible today.
He told 3AW current evidence on the long-term health effects of bushfire smoke was “thin”.
The government has announced it will provide $5 million to bushfire-related health research, including the long-term effects of bushfire smoke and mental health support.
Individual sensitivity was a factor in how people reacted to the smoke while exercising, but overall “it’s a no-no in my book”, Dr Bartone said.