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Sydneysiders warned to stay indoors as outback dust storm looms
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Sydney was blanketed in haze on Thursday as the storm front, caused by strong winds whipping up dust in drought-affected areas, approached the city. (Bloomberg/File)
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dust storm already engulfing parts of Australia’s outback is heading toward the country’s biggest city, sparking public health warnings over poor air quality.
Sydney was blanketed in haze on Thursday as the storm front, caused by strong winds whipping up dust in drought-affected areas, approached the city.
“Dust storms may reach as far as the coast on Thursday, including Sydney and Canberra, and strong winds will also lead to elevated fire dangers for eastern New South Wales,” the Bureau of Meteorology said in an update on its website.
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Air quality was rated as “poor” in Sydney by the state government’s environment department, which said conditions were “unhealthy for sensitive people, and could cause symptoms, especially in people with heart or lung disease.”
A similar weather event hit back in 2009, as a dust storm blanketed the city in an orange glow and caused the state government to lift its air quality warning to “hazardous.”
Australia is the driest inhabited continent on the planet and farmers in parts of the country have been struggling amid severe drought conditions for much of the year.
