Sydney, one of Australia's most iconic cities, found itself shrouded in a smoky haze as controlled blazes burned on its outskirts in preparation for the upcoming bushfire season.
Landmarks such as the Harbour Bridge and Sydney Opera House were cloaked in wispy shrouds of smoke. Office workers arriving in the city's business district could taste the acrid smoke in the air, reported AFP.
The smoke resulted from "hazard reduction burns" conducted by firefighters in Sydney's forested outskirts. These controlled burns are meant to reduce fuel loads, mitigating the risk of dangerous bushfires in the coming summer.
Air quality in parts of Sydney deteriorated to levels comparable to major cities like Beijing or New Delhi. Residents were advised to keep windows closed and avoid outdoor activities.
According to Ben Shepherd, Inspector at the New South Wales Rural Fire Service, approximately 30,000 hectares of undergrowth have been burned across the state since July. He emphasised that, after several wet years, the bushfire risk has returned to New South Wales, indicating the potential for increased fire activity.
Forecasters predict that this bushfire season could be Australia's most intense since the devastating "Black Summer" of 2019-2020, marked by uncontrollable wildfires that ravaged the eastern seaboard.
One concerning factor is that unusually wet conditions in recent years have led to accelerated forest growth, increasing the potential fuel for bushfires. Australia's national weather bureau has forecast a "warmer and drier than average" summer, with the country recently experiencing its warmest winter on record.