Sydneysiders have woken to a red haze unlike anything seen before by residents or weather experts, as the sun struggles to pierce a thick blanket of dust cloaking the city this morning.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Bureau of Meteorology's Barry Hanstrum about the phenomenon and the University of Sydney's Clinical Professor Christine Jenkins about the health risks right now and over the next few days.
Callers flooded talkback radio, others hit social networking sites and scores of emails were received from smh.com.au readers as Sydney residents expressed their amazement at this morning's conditions.
"The reason for the dust is we had some really strong winds in the inland areas of NSW and in South Australia for a sustained period yesterday," said Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Jane Golding.
"That's lifted a whole lot of dust off the ground because it's quite dry out there, many of those areas are still drought affected."
The lifted dust was carried by the winds into Sydney.
"I've not seen anything like this before."
The reddish haze was expected to fade as the sun got higher in the sky, Ms Golding said, but it was not known what would happen to the dust.
"This is such an infrequent event ... it's hard to say when the dust will stop."
The dust has caused havoc with the city's transport system this morning.
All citybound lanes on the M5 East tunnel have been closed because of dust on the tunnel, while flights at Sydney Airport are delayed as a result of the "strong winds and dust haze".
Sydney's ferries were also suspended due to poor visibility on harbour.
The RTA also issued a warning urging drivers to exercise caution and reduce speed due to "significant dust over the city affecting visibility".
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning across the state because of widespread damaging winds, which are expected to increase in force across Sydney this morning.
"It's been close to 60km/h already this morning ... it's just a matter of time before it gets stronger," Ms Golding said.
Wind speeds this morning were expected to average over 65km/h, but there would be gusts in excess of 100 km/h, the Bureau said.
The winds would gradually ease over the afternoon and evening, Ms Golding said.
The winds were being whipped up by a cold front that passed through the state yesterday, and a deep low pressure trough over Victoria.
Temperatures this morning in the low 20s, and were expected to remain that way for the rest of the day, Ms Golding said.
International and domestic flights at Sydney Airport were delayed as a result of the "strong winds and dust haze", a spokesman said.
A number of incoming international flights had been diverted to Melbourne and Brisbane, although some flights had managed to land in Sydney, he said.
While delays were expected throughout the day, the airport was not closed, contrary to some reports, he said.
Sydney's ferries were also suspended this morning due to poor visibility on harbour. Services have since resumed and were expected to be back to schedule by mid-morning, a spokeswoman said.
Emergency services had also been stretched by the conditions, as health experts raised fears about the impact of the dust for people with breathing problems.
The Ambulance Service said it had experienced an increase in calls from asthma sufferers as a result of the dust haze this morning. Some were taken to hospital, a spokeswoman said.
The Fire Brigade received over 500 calls between 3am and 7am, triggered by automatic fire alarms. It normally received only 30 a day in that time period.
"This is one for the books," a spokesman said.
"A lot of fire alarms are particle-type alarms and the dust gets in and sets them off.
"We are flat strap at the moment ... there's going to be a high flow of fire brigade traffic through the metropolitan area today."
The Bureau of Meteorology has issued a severe weather warning across the state because of widespread damaging winds, which are expected to increase in force across Sydney this morning.
"It's been close to 60km/h already this morning ... it's just a matter of time before it gets stronger," Ms Golding said.
Wind speeds this morning were expected to average over 65km/h, but there would be gusts in excess of 100 km/h, the Bureau said.
The winds would gradually ease over the afternoon and evening, Ms Golding said.
The winds were being whipped up by a cold front that passed through the state yesterday, and a deep low pressure trough over Victoria.
Temperatures this morning in the low 20s, and were expected to remain that way for the rest of the day, Ms Golding said.
Last night, large hailstones fell in parts of Goulburn and Wagga, while wind gusts exceeded 90km/h, the Bureau said.
A 109km/h gust was reported at Moss Vale, it said.
Despite sunrise being at 5.43am, the city was a dark reddish haze at 7am this morning.
"It's just red, red, red as far as you can see," one caller at the Anzac Bridge told 2GB.
Many residents took to social networking sites, with Sydney one of the top 10 topics on Twitter this morning.
