Tradies urged to down tools, fire alarms set off as smoke haze engulfs city
Smoke haze has seen Melbourne’s air quality skyrocket to hazardous levels, with the “dangerous and unhealthy” conditions causing a number of flight delays at Melbourne Airport. Here’s when you can expect the haze to disappear.
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Melbourne will choke on “hazardous” smoke for a second day, after recording the worst air quality of any city in the world.
Ambulance Victoria crews responded to 162 cases of “breathing problems” between midnight and 4pm on Tuesday — an 84 per cent rise on the usual 88 call-outs for that.
Hazardous smoke from the bushfires is forecast for Wednesday across Melbourne, Gippsland and north central areas of the state, with authorities warning of the greater likelihood of coughing and shortness of breath.
The northeast will wheeze through “very poor” air quality and the northern country “poor”, before a change blowing across the state tonight begins to clear skies.
Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said the cooler temperatures overnight on Monday had forced “particulate matter” to settle low to the ground. “We will get respite over the coming days but it is probably going to be in the very poor to hazardous range until late in the week,” Dr Sutton said.
The state’s environmental protection watchdog recorded huge spikes in pollution early Tuesday morning, which a respiratory diseases expert labelled “catastrophic”.
“It’s probably going to be in the very poor range up to hazardous until late in the week.
“It will improve over time. When conditions are good, or good to moderate air quality, that’s the time to open doors.
“When the quality is poor close doors and windows, stay inside and minimise your activity.”
Dr Sutton said vulnerable groups included children under 14, adults over 65 and anyone with pre-existing medical conditions.
“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 really anyone can develop symptoms.”
The CFMMEU on Tuesday morning urged the suspension of outdoor construction work for tradies.
“This is making outdoor work dangerous and unhealthy,” the union posted on Facebook.
“It is advised to have all personnel relocated to a healthier and safer environment.
“Visibility is also a factor when cranes … are being operated. This is a health and safety issue, not an inclement weather issue.”
SMOKE HAZE DELAYS FLIGHTS
An international flight bound for Melbourne has instead landed interstate, as smoke haze from the state’s bushfires impacts visibility.
Etihad Airways flight EY460 tonight landed in Adelaide as thick smog forced a holding pattern in the skies above Melbourne Airport — with a number of other flights also confirmed to have been delayed.
The flight from Abu Dhabi is understood to have landed in Adelaide to refuel, instead of waiting in the sky.
At this stage, the plane is still expected to arrive in Melbourne tonight.
Melbourne Airport spokesman Grant Smith confirmed the delays and said they were at the mercy of the weather.
“Melbourne Airport can confirm a number of delays to both international and domestic services, with smoke from the bushfires affecting visibility at the airport,” Mr Smith said.
“Anyone who is travelling tonight or tomorrow who has concerns about their flight should check directly with their airline to find out if their flight is affected.
“The airport is continuing to monitor air quality advice from the EPA.”
Airports often operate on altered flight timetables when visibility is low, sometimes implementing longer wait times between planes landing and restricting runnways.
Flight tracking website Flight Radar 24 showed nine flights as being “delayed” as of 8pm.
CITY WAKES TO SMOKE HAZE
The EPA website, which publishes up-to-date air quality ratings across the state, crashed earlier this morning and has since been restored.
The city’s air quality levels have this morning improved to “very poor” quality, but the CBD skyline is barely visible amid the thick smoke haze.
Sunday vs This morning (same spot) pic.twitter.com/SicWgKkQ3b
— Brehensen & Sledges 🙂👠(@k_morrissey) January 13, 2020
Public aquatic centres across Melbourne have closed due to the poor air quality.
City of Melbourne has also closed the North Melbourne Recreation Centre and Melbourne City Baths “until further notice”.
Posties across Victoria have been equipped with P2 masks but deliveries will not be suspended like they were in Canberra earlier this month.
An Australia Post spokesman said “we’re monitoring the situation closely”.
The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners (RACGP) said anyone experiencing non-life threatening health problems as a result of the smoke should contact their GP immediately.
Royal Melbourne Hospital respiratory service head Louis Irving told 3AW people who experience respiratory or cardiac health problems should limit their exposure to the smoke and stay indoors where possible.
It is also recommended that people who do not suffer any lung conditions should also stay inside and avoid exercise.
Professor Irving said the woodfire smoke particles were able to pick up other forms of pollution on their way to the city from the bushfires, so people in cars should be mindful when using recirculated air.
Masks are able to reduce the ingestion of smoke particles, but staying indoors remains the safest option to avoid smoke inhalation, he said.
Professor Irving said tradies working outdoors should wear masks while on the job.
There wasn’t a major spike in hospital visits when the smoke haze blanketed Melbourne last week, but he said there was always a risk of an increase in patients in these conditions.
Vet behaviourist Dr Kersti Seksel said the advice for animals was much the same for humans and it was best to keep pets inside.
HAZE SETS FIRE ALARMS OFF
The level of smoke has been so bad, it has been setting off smoke alarms since hazard levels spiked.
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade was called out to 200 false alarms between 10pm Monday and 7am Tuesday, with almost all triggered by the hazy conditions.
The brigade has urged building managers to review their air handling systems and, where possible, change settings so air is recycled in the building, rather than being drawn from outside.
MFB acting deputy chief officer Mark Swiney said firefighters were called out to 200 false alarms across the city last night.
Mr Swiney said fire crews would usually only be called out to 20 such incidents on a normal night.
Most of the call-outs were to bigger buildings in the CBD and commercial properties.
The increased number of false alarms was because of the smoke in the atmosphere being circulated through air conditioners, he said.
Mr Swiney said crews were “really busy” and the smoke was “having a significant impact”.
WHAT’S CAUSING THE HAZE?
EPA Victoria air quality scientist Jason Choi said air pollution spiked to a hazardous level in Melbourne about 11pm on Monday and smoke had lingered overnight.
Mr Choi said that was due to a combination of weather conditions.
“You’ve got enough wind that is transporting it from the fire to where it’s impacting, but … you don’t have enough wind to disperse the smoke and push it away, and then it tends to linger in that spot,” he said.
He said the hazard was likely to remain into Wednesday.
Rain forecast tomorrow afternoon is likely to wash away some of the smoke and provide some relief, he said.
“We’ve got some showers expected into the afternoon and evening tomorrow and hopefully that will help clear things up.
“If we get some rain that will help wash out some of the smoke and fine particles in the air.”
Mr Choi said the thick blanket of smoke above Melbourne illustrated how smoke could be blown hundreds of kilometres from fire-affected areas.
“What we’ve seen from this incident and a lot of other fires around the world is that smoke can travel long distances,” he said.
“From this fire we’ve seen satellite images of smoke travelling across New Zealand. The fact we’re seeing quite large impacts in Melbourne is not surprising.”
The level of smoke in the air could pose a problem for weeks, he said.
“As long as we’ve got a source of smoke, so long as the bushfires keep going, then these sorts of days could keep coming up.”
The smoke haze that lingers in central Melbourne from the bushfires that still burn in country Victoria is a sight to behold. I’ve never seen anything like it. pic.twitter.com/sPyKRt2RDQ
— Arthur Athanasiou (@arthurathana) January 13, 2020
STORES RUN OUT OF FACE MASKS
Scores of retailers run out of face masks following a spike in demand amid h azardous air quality levels across parts of Victoria.
Pharmacies and hardware stores have been working to secure more of the sought-after P2 masks but unprecedented demand has left many shelves bare.
The shortage comes amid warnings from the EPA to brace for more days of hazardous and very poor air quality in Victoria’s northeast and East Gippsland.
Bunnings Regional Operations Manager Sally Powell said the company was trying to restock shops but people were buying them out quickly with every delivery.
“Stock levels are changing quickly and we apologise if customers are unable to get what they need immediately,” she said.
“We are working to get stock to the relevant stores as quickly as possible and our suppliers have been a huge support in making this happen.”
The mask shortage was of concern for Melbourne doctor Katherine Barraclough, who said the impact of long-term exposure to bushfire smoke was unknown.
She urged people to take all precautions possible, especially those with pre-existing respiratory and heart conditions.
“Don’t assume that you are going to be protected if you are indoors,” she said. “Reset your aircon to recirculate air.
“The main advice is for people with underlying conditions, make sure you take any prevention (medication) before the smoke hits.”
Dr Barraclough was particularly worried because bushfire smoke particles were so small they were able to be breathed in very deeply and could make their way into people’s bloodstreams.
But chief health officer Dr Brett Sutton said there was no general recommendation to wear masks.
He said there was no solid evidence that masks were the best intervention across the population, and they could make breathing harder on a day like Tuesday.
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The Public Health Association of Australia said more work needs to be done to understand the best way to mitigate the risks associated with smoke so doctors are better able to instruct people how to stay safe.
“The role of masks, filters, air filtration devices and smoke refuges together with the effect of certain behaviours, such as avoiding exercise and staying indoors, needs to be investigated so that health authorities can give proactive, evidence-based advice in future episodes,” a spokesman said.
Last week, the federal government announced would supply more than 1.8 million P2 face masks to frontline workers and people at risk in bushfire regions.
Additional reporting - Kieran Rooney and Tamsin Rose