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The Guardian - AU
The Guardian - AU
National
Naaman Zhou (now), Helen Davidson and Michael McGowan (earlier)

Wind change fans blazes as Sydney hit by hazardous air quality – as it happened

Summary

We’ll be leaving the blog here for tonight, here’s a recap of what happened today:

  • Sydney was shrouded in smoke, as the air quality index reached 11 times higher than “hazardous” in many parts of the city.
  • Nine fires are currently burning at watch and act level, and one at emergency level (the Little L complex fire). The Three Mile fire was at emergency level at 2pm, but was later downgraded to watch and act.
  • The prime minister, Scott Morrison, rejected suggestions that volunteer firefighters should be professionalised, or that the federal government should do more, saying the firefighters “want to be there”.
  • Cricketers playing in the Sheffield Shield at the SCG said the air was “toxic” and called on the sport to review its air quality policy.
  • Buildings all over Sydney – including RFS headquarters – were evacuated as the smoke triggered fire alarms.

Updated

The maximum temperature in Sydney today was 42.4C in Richmond. The dropped to 28C by 4pm, due to a sweeping southerly.

Emergency warning for Little L Complex, Yengo national park

An emergency warning has just been issued for the Little L Complex fire, in Yengo national park.

This is the first fire to worsen this evening, after others were downgraded during the day.

There is increasing fire in the Glenroy Estate area, near Putty Rd, the RFS says.

Earlier today, Sheffield Shield cricketers at the SCG said it was “toxic” playing in heavy smoke.

Footage was dramatically hazy but the game was not called off.

Queensland captain Usman Khawaja said it was “hard to breathe” and New South Wales spinner Steve O’Keefe said Cricket Australia needed to take action and look at its air quality policy.

“For someone like me who smokes 40 a day, it’s now smoking 80 cigarettes a day,” he told AAP.

“The one thing they need to look at is the air quality policy. It’s not healthy. It’s toxic ... that was shocking. I don’t have kids but if I did they’d be locked up inside, and if I was at home I wouldn’t be training or playing.”

Updated

That rain could fall over fires near Grafton, and the Bangala Creek fire, which is at watch and act, near Tenterfield. Still waiting on an RFS update on this.

A severe thunderstorm warning has just been issued for parts of the mid-north coast and inland. That includes the possibility of hail.

Doctors from some of Sydney’s hardest hit areas have spoken to Melissa Davey about the impacts they are seeing in patients.

Dr Kim Loo works in Rouse Hill, which recorded some of the worst air quality ratings today.

“My poor patients, many live on the margins of poverty,” she told Guardian Australia. “They live in houses that aren’t sealed. I know there are guidelines telling people to stay inside if they have certain health conditions, but that’s no good if your house isn’t sealed and you can’t afford an air filter.”

At Circular Quay, ferries are severely delayed and passengers are being told they are running 30 minutes or more late. This comes after cancellations due to bushfires earlier in the day.

The southerly has hit the Green Wattle firegrounds.

And read this from Katharine Murphy:

Dear prime minister. The country is not parched but desiccated, and it is burning like a tinderbox, and people are frightened.

They are frightened about today and the terrible business of defending property and saving lives, and they are frightened about whether this is what spring and summer in Australia now looks like.

'Take precautions with your health'

NSW Health has put out a statement urging people to “take precautions to protect their health”.

“NSW Health is particularly reminding the elderly and parents and carers of young children to stay inside with doors and windows shut, where possible, and postpone outdoor activities,” said the chief health officer, Dr Kerry Chant.

“The best way to reduce exposure to smoke is to stay indoors with the doors and windows shut. People with existing lung and heart conditions can also protect themselves by following their disease management plans.”

The NSW health minister, Brad Hazzard, has told people to follow the NSW Health advice.

Updated

Sydney’s ferries are running again but there’s still a reduced service on many routes.

Updated

The ACT’s emergency services agency has tweeted this map. More smoke is heading Canberra’s way.

The website advises: “A change in wind direction has caused the smoke to blow across the ACT region.”

Updated

If you’re wondering if you should get an air purifier – and from where – this explainer from Martin Farrer has some info.

In short, they need to have a HEPA filter, but their effectiveness varies. And in many parts of Sydney, they are sold out.

Updated

5pm update from RFS:

  • 83 fires burning across NSW, 40 uncontained.
  • 12 are at watch and act.
  • Tomorrow there are three areas with total fire bans (central ranges, northwestern and northern slopes).

Updated

Potential respite coming tomorrow for Sydney – but not every part of the state.

Temperatures have dropped across the state as a southerly change has come through in the past few hours. But that most likely will worsen fire conditions and make the job harder for firefighters on the ground.

Updated

Unlucky.

This is Naaman Zhou taking over the blog from Helen Davidson.

Former fire chief Greg Mullins has warned that firefighters may have “nothing left in the tank” as they battle with an abnormally long and extensive fire season.

He told AAP: “Everyone is getting pretty worn out and in my experience that’s where all the bad stuff happens. The troops, if they’re worn out, you get to a stage where it just overwhelms everyone, so that’s a worry.

“I’m buggered ... and I haven’t done as many [shifts] as some people. People will step up. Firefighters – they are men and women who give their all – they will do whatever is asked of them and more, but I do fear for their welfare.”

Last month Mullins and 23 other former fire chiefs said the government had ignored their warnings because it “fundamentally doesn’t like talking about climate change”.

Updated

Mike Bowers is down in Braidwood where firefighters have been battling a large fire. It’s at a watch-and-act level.

North Black Range, Palerang fire BraidwoodAn RFS unit drives through black smoke ahead of the fire front along Foxes Elbow Road at the North Black Range, Palerang fire North of Braidwood this afternoon.
An RFS unit drives through black smoke ahead of the fire front along Foxes Elbow Road at the North Black Range at the Palerang fire north of Braidwood on Tuesday afternoon. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
North Black Range, Palerang fire Braidwood. Water bombing helicopters battle the North Black Range, Palerang fire North of Braidwood along Foxes Elbow road this afternoon.
Water-bombing helicopters battle blaze. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
North Black Range, Palerang fire BraidwoodRFS crews defend properties at the end of Fox’s Elbow Road at the North Black Range, Palerang fire North of Braidwood this afternoon.
RFS crews defend properties at the end of Fox’s Elbow Road. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian

Updated

Our data team has updated their graph of total area burned in NSW.

There’s a fuller story here, but it’s worth this quick explanation of what happened in 1974 when 3.5m hectares burned, and how this differs.

Scientists says fire conditions today are fundamentally different, and fundamentally worse in many ways, when compared with some of the fires in the past.

The director of the University of Wollongong’s centre for environmental risk management of bushfires, Ross Bradstock, says the 1974 fires burned through largely remote country mostly in the state’s far west, devouring green, non-woody herbaceous plants. The conditions were created by above average rainfall which produced ample fuel in outback grasslands.

By contrast, the fires in the east of the state this year have been fuelled by a lack of rain. The extent of the fires is in significant part driven by the amount of dry fuel available, some of it in highly unlikely places, and the amount of dry fuel is linked to the record-breaking drought.

Bushfire extent by year

Updated

There are now 10 fires at watch and act level.

Here are the new or upgraded ones:

• A blaze near Cessnock, which is being referred to as the Crumps Complex fire, is burning in the Corrabare state forest, east of Wollombi. It is being controlled but has burned through more than 5,000ha and fire activity has increased on the western side of the fire, near Narone Creek.

• Directly west of the large Gospers Mountain fire, at Palmers Oaky in the Lithgow council area, an out-of-control fire has gone through more than 600ha.

The Bangala Creek fire near Tenterfield has been upgraded and is burning out of control after a storm cell above the fireground caused erratic winds and increased fire activity.

The Palerang fire near Braidwood is “being controlled” but was upgraded to a watch and act this afternoon. Fire activity is increasing around Foxs Elbow and Watsons Road.

Two grass fires have sparked at Corrys Road and Meander Street in Thurgoona, near Albury.

Updated

The Three Mile fire on the Central Coast has been downgraded to a watch and act, thanks to firefighting efforts.

Updated

Fire and rescue station 505 at Wyong has released some comparison stats on bushfire emergencies in recent decades. This is by far the biggest in terms of area burnt (but is a distant second after the disastrous Black Saturday fires in terms of lives and homes lost).

“This information shows the sheer destruction that has occurred and could have been worse if it wasn’t for everyone doing their bit,” it said.

1994 January
- 800,000ha burnt
- 225 homes lost
- 4 lives lost

2001 Black Christmas, 25 Dec 2001 - 7 Jan 2002
- 753,000ha burnt
- 109 homes lost
- 433 out (non-house) buildings destroyed

2003 January
- 160,000ha burnt
- 470 homes destroyed
- 4 lives lost

2009 Black Saturday, Vic, 7 Feb - 14 Mar
- 450,000ha burnt
- 2029 homes lost
- 3,500-plus out buildings destroyed
- 180 lives lost

2013 October
- 118,000ha burnt
- 248 buildings destroyed
- 40 out buildings destroyed
- 2 lives lost

2019 July to December and still burning
- 2.7m ha burnt
- 684 homes lost
- 1452 out buildings destroyed
- 6 lives lost

Updated

This morning Scott Morrison addressed media and dismissed calls for greater federal support of the bushfire response and of volunteer firefighters.

It came after the opposition and Malcolm Turnbull called for a restructured nationally coordinated response, with the latter saying the threat was now a “national security issue”, as well as a growing concern from the community about volunteers being in the field for weeks or months with no end in sight.

The Australasian fire and emergency service authorities council (Afac) said this afternoon: “Australia has never been better prepared to face natural disasters.”

Afac, which counts fire and emergency management professions as members, said cross-state firefighting resources were funnelled and distributed across the country where they had been requested, by its national resource sharing centre.

“While many volunteers are not available to travel far from their homes or interstate due to local responsibilities, employment or managing drought-stricken stock that require daily feeding, others are prepared to deploy,” Afac said.

It said there was integrated engagement with the commonwealth and national protocols for managing incident responses and the available fleet of 140 aircraft and international personnel.

“None of this comes with guarantees. However, a great deal is in place and has been practised, providing Australia with a truly national capability drawn from state and territory agencies from across the commonwealth.”

Updated

A quick update from Victoria, where there are also several fires burning out of control in the East Gippsland region.

From AAP:

Several fires burning across Victoria’s East Gippsland region have been downgraded to advice level, but remain out of control.

Firefighters are still tackling bushfires in the towns of Ensay and Timbarra, about 340km north-east of Melbourne.

Fire crews are assessing the spread of the fire and developing strategies to tie it into existing containment lines.

Aircraft are also monitoring the areas, as well as the nearby towns of Buchan, Buchan South, Sunny Point, who have also had their fire danger downgraded to advice level.

A watch-and-act warning was in place early Tuesday morning after a blaze began during Monday’s extreme heat in Timbarra.

Residents were also advised to stay indoors as a precaution.

Another 10 bushfires are burning across the state, covering about 47,000ha, according to the Country Fire Authority.

“The fires mainly cover remote forest regions, where extreme dryness and rough terrain is making it difficult for firefighters to reach,” a spokeswoman said.

Northern and north-east Victoria remains at very high bushfire risk despite the cool change overnight.

Updated

Guardian Australia photographer Mike Bowers is in Braidwood where a fire is at a watch and act level.

Updated

The University of NSW has also closed some its campuses, but not all.

It has clarified some reporting out there to say that only its Biological Sciences north and south campuses have shut down “to avoid further disruption”.

Updated

“Luckily we weren’t needed.”

There are many organisations involved in the bushfire response effort.

Marine Rescue teams have been on standby to provide backup for the RFS and SES on the Hawkesbury for the past few days. The organisation’s volunteers know the river, and where properties are, and they can increase the radio communication coverage and coordinate resupplies.

On Saturday Marine Rescue’s Peter Moore told me they sent three vessels out to where the Three Mile fire was burning along Mangrove Creek. Between them, the SES and others about 20 boats were stationed about 1km apart in case residents needed to get out quickly.

“The residents along the road had no way of getting out easily – the winds are variable – so they just wanted every contingency covered,” he said. “So if we have to move people, we had the facility without too much fuss.”

That part of Sydney has about 2,000 people without road access to their properties.

“It’s the third time we’ve been deployed,” Moore said. “We went out on the previous two hot days. You had this feeling of impending doom. The smoke was that thick you couldn’t see the side of the river. We used radar.

“Luckily we weren’t needed.”

Bushfires in the Hawkesbury on 7 December.
Bushfires in the Hawkesbury on 7 December. Photograph: Helen Davidson/The Guardian

Updated

We looked earlier at the overall air quality index but the numbers for the PM2.5 particles (the ones small enough to get deep into the lungs and into the bloodstream) are pretty shocking across the state.

Health department data measures rolling 24-hour averages, and in the past few hours a number of regions have bounced into the red “hazardous” zone, which is above 200.

Armidale in the northern tablelands has hit 542, and to the south-west in Tamworth it has reached 428.

Goulburn in the southern tablelands is also extraordinarily high at 462.

Most of the greater Sydney region is also in the red, with measurements above 300 across the north-west except in Rouse Hill where it has hit 430.

Sydney’s east ranges from 157 in Earlwood to 353 in Macquarie Park.

Updated

Sydney University’s campuses at Camden and Molonglo are still closed to staff, students and visitors, after being evacuated last Thursday.

A limited number of staff attending to the critical care of animals were allowed access to the sites this morning, the uni said, but those people had pre-approval from their line managers and security.

People are being told not to return until at least tomorrow.

Updated

A quick update of the current fire situation as that southerly change starts moving through the state.

Emergency level:

  • The Three Mile fore, in the central coast, has burned through more than 31,000ha.

Watch and Act level:

  • The Gospers Mountain fire, in the Hawkesbury, has burned through more than 319,000ha.
  • The Green Wattle Creek fire, south-west of Warragamba Dam Wall in the Blue Mountains national park, has burned through more than 109,000ha.
  • The Kerry Ridge fire, near Muswellbrook, has burned through more than 53,400ha.
  • The Little L Complex fire at Singleton has burned through more than 65,900ha.

There are 86 other fires burning.

Updated

In the context of those health warnings we’ve just heard, here’s the Climate and Health Alliance - a coalition of healthcare stakeholders lobbying for climate change action as a health issued.

From a NSW Ambulance Service spokesman:

“In conditions like these, New South Wales ambulance is responding to between 70 and 100 instances of respiratory illness per day, from asthma to emphysema.

“Today they’ve treated a 93-year-old woman in northern Sydney and a 23-year-old woman in western Sydney, both of whom had pre-existing asthma conditions.

“Both of those patients did not have their asthma medication with them. To the vulnerable people in the community – that is children, the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions that are either respiratory or cardiac-related – we encourage them to say indoors and to have their medications with them. These conditions should not be taken lightly.”

Updated

NSW Health is addressing the media, urging people to stay indoors and seek out air-conditioned environments. The air quality is up there with the worst they’ve ever seen, and the southerly change is expected to bring “some relief”.

Sydney has experience poor air quality episodes before, for instance the 2009 dust storm, but this smokey period for the past month is “unprecedented”.

“Most people are going to be experiencing this as sore eyes, nose and throat, or perhaps a bit of a cough, but there are other people who will find it makes their symptoms worse,” Dr Richard Bruen said. “For example, if you do have asthma or emphysema, it could your respiratory condition worsen.”

Asked about the utility of face masks, they’ve said the “loose fitting material masks” don’t really have a material effect but the P2 or N95 masks are “in theory effective” but need to have a really good fit.

Updated

I’m going to hand you over to my colleague Helen Davidson now. Thanks for reading.

As expected, conditions are worsening as the temperatures drop along with the strong gusty winds moving up through NSW from the south.

Updated

The latest air quality figures have gone live. This covers 12pm - 1pm AEDT, so it’s still half an hour behind.

The maximum AQI has dropped in Sydney city’s centre (Cook and Phillip) and east (Randwick). Those were hitting over 2000 between 10-11 but are now down to maximums of 1223 and 907. That is still four to five times the hazardous level.

They remain over 2000 in the west, at Richmond and St Marys. That’s up to 11 times hazardous. Parramatta North has dropped marginally to 1719.

Hazardous levels begin at 200.

Updated

Emergency alert issued for central coast fire

The NSW Rural Fire Service has issued an emergency warning for the Three Mile fire near the Hawkesbury River on the state’s central coast.

The RFS said the fire has merged with another Wrights Cree fire and was increasing in the areas of Central Mangrove and Kulnura. It said if you are in those areas it is now too late to leave. Seek shelter as the fire approaches and protect yourself from the heat.

“Conditions are expected to deteriorate today with fire expected to spread to the east and north after a southerly change,” the RFS said.

For other areas affected, the Gosford RSL Club has been set up as an evacuation centre.

Updated

While the cricketers play on, the smoke has forced the cancellation of the traditional Sydney to Hobart lead-up race for safety reasons.

A spokeswoman for Transport for NSW said all Sydney ferry services were suspended and vessels would remain in port until the smoke lifted.

“We just don’t know when that is going to be. It will be when the smoke lifts and we get the all-clear for the ferry services to resume.”

Replacement bus services are running between Manly and Circular Quay. For passengers on other routes, passengers are advised to seek alternative public transport.

Updated

Steve O’Keefe still rolling the arm over despite Sydney’s big end of the world energy.

Updated

From Kensington in Sydney’s south-east.

Updated

In some good news, the thick smoke is preventing fire conditions from worsening.

But they may worsen in the afternoon as strong winds pick up.

Updated

Some live footage from today’s Sheffield Shield game at the SCG. Nearly empty stands, almost invisible players.

The offices of the Sydney Morning Herald are being evacuated, after their smoke alarm went off.

Sydney’s ferries have now been cancelled due to the smoke.

Buses are replacing ferries.

Air quality in Sydney's west 11 times higher than hazardous

Sydney’s air quality has reached as high as 11 times the hazardous level, according to the state’s monitoring index.

The worst reading is currently at Macquarie Park in Sydney’s north-west, which recorded air quality of 2,214 between 9am and 10am this morning. Any air quality index reading above 200 is considered hazardous.

Prospect in Sydney’s north reached 2,075 and Parramatta North has reached 2,024 with levels continuing to rise.

Updated

Liam Gallagher is in Sydney and has weighed in on the smoke.

A few views of Sydney...

Severe heatwave conditions combined with “grotty” smoke pollution will put stress on vulnerable people in the coming days, authorities have warned.

The haze may cause breathing issues for those with heart or lung disease, while Sydneysiders have been encouraged to stay indoors and avoid exercise.

NSW Health environmental health director Dr Richard Broome said Tuesday would be “very hot and very smoky”.

“It’s going to be putting a lot of stress on vulnerable people, particularly elderly people who have existing heart and lung conditions,” Broome told reporters.

Updated

Morrison rejects calls for more assistance for firefighters

Asked about concerns about the time that volunteer firefighters are being asked to continue volunteering without pay, and reports they’re crowd-sourcing funds for water and food on the ground, the prime minister Scott Morrison rejected the suggestion the federal government could do more.

Speaking in Sydney a few minutes ago Morrison said:

No, I don’t share that view because I know what the practice is and I know what the experience is and I know what’s happening on the ground and I know that whether it’s the ADF or any other agency of the commonwealth, all of those agencies, our efforts have been channelled and coordinated [into] the response of the state and territory staff on the ground. That is what is set up. That is what was intended to be set up and that is operating and I’m pleased with the way those arrangements are being worked out and if there is any other matter that would need to be addressed, it would be raised with the commonwealth, because there is a direct line to make sure that happens.

He also rejected suggestions the country’s volunteer firefighting forces should be professionalised:

We are constantly looking at ways to better facilitate the volunteer effort, but to professionalise that at that scale is not a matter that has previously been accepted and it’s not currently under consideration by the government. But as is the case with all fire events, or as is the case with all flood events and other natural disasters, this nationally coordinated effort is designed to constantly look at those issues, post these events.

Updated

Smoke alarms prompt evacuations across Sydney

Smoke alarms continue to go off at random because of the thick smoke covering so much of Sydney and the rest of the state.

Parts of the University of New South Wales have had to be evacuated, as has Fisher Library at the University of Sydney and the ABC’s Central Coast studio which has been evacuated twice on Tuesday morning.

https://twitter.com/alix_thoeming/status/1204197285497733120

Elsewhere, fog horns are going off across Sydney harbour as ferries try to find their way through the thick haze.

Updated

Air quality across NSW continues to decline.

By 9am PM2.5 fine particle readings had reached “very poor” to “hazardous” in much of Sydney, the Hunter and central coast and Illawarra regions.

The worst readings, between 262 and 337 on the air quality index over a 24-hour rolling average, have been in the north-west around Richmond and St Marys. Some parts of Sydney have recorded levels of 1789 on the index, where anything above 200 is considered hazardous.

Most of the upper Hunter, and the central, southern and northern tablelands are also experiencing hazardous air quality, according to the Department of Planning and Environment.

If you’re unfamiliar with what a PM2.5 fine particle is, my colleague Naaman Zhou has helpfully explained it here:

Updated

The Green Wattle Creek fire burning in Wollondilly west of Sydney has now been upgraded to watch and act. The fire has already burned through about 100,000ha.

The RFS says the fire is burning on both sides of Lake Burragorang and that activity is increasing across the fireground.

Updated

Rural Fire Service headquarters evacuated due to heavy smoke

Quite a few reports of this today, now it appears the RFS headquarters in Sydney has been briefly evacuated after smoke alarms were triggered.

Updated

Sydney blanketed in thick smoke

Sydneysiders love to refer to the glory index; that is, how glorious the city is looking on any given day. Sad to report that, like the air quality, today’s is very, very low.

The Sydney Opera House can be seen as smoke haze from bushfires in New South Wales blankets the CBD in Sydney on Tuesday.
The Sydney Opera House can be seen as smoke haze from bushfires in NSW blankets the CBD on Tuesday. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP
Smoke haze hangs over the city as the New South Wales fire danger risk is raised from ‘very high’ to ‘severe’.
Smoke haze hangs over the city as fire danger risk is raised from ‘very high’ to ‘severe’. Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images
Smoke haze is seen over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on December 10, 2019 in Sydney, Australia.
Smoke haze is seen over the Sydney Harbour Bridge on Tuesday. Photograph: James D Morgan/Getty Images
Bushfire smoke hangs over Coogee Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs.
Bushfire smoke hangs over Coogee Beach in Sydney’s eastern suburbs. Photograph: Jessica Hromas/The Guardian
The Sydney Harbour Bridge seen through a thick smoke haze on Tuesday.
The Sydney Harbour Bridge seen through a thick smoke haze on Tuesday. Photograph: Joel Carrett/AAP

Updated

Meanwhile in Victoria there are still 12 bushfires burning, with evacuation warnings still in place in the state’s East Gippsland region.

A watch-and-act warning remains in place for residents on the Timbarra settlement, about 340km north-east of Melbourne, after a blaze began during Monday’s extreme heat.

“Don’t wait, leaving now is the safest option – conditions may change and get worse very quickly,” the warning reads on Tuesday morning.

A bushfire directly south of Timbarra, in the town of Ensay, is also out of control with a watch-and-act warning in place for residents in Ensay North, Holstons and Reedy Flat.

About 100 firefighters are working to put out the blaze, with an emergency warning downgraded overnight, AAP reports.

Another 10 bushfires are burning across the state, covering about 47,000ha, according to the Country Fire Authority.

“The fires mainly cover remote forest regions, where extreme dryness and rough terrain is making it difficult for firefighters to reach,” a spokeswoman said.

Northern and north-east Victoria remains at very high bushfire risk despite the cool change overnight.

Updated

The Gospers Mountain fire has already merged with the fire at Kerry Ridge further north, but as the RFS map shows there is a real possibility that it could also join with the fire at Three Mile Creek. That would create a huge fire front for firefighters.

Updated

Two more blazes – the Kerry Ridge fire near Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley and the Three Mile fire on the central coast – have been upgraded to watch and act by the Rural Fire Service.

The Three Mile fire has merged with the separate Wrights Creek fire. The RFS says the fire is increasing in the area of Bloodtree Road at Kulnur.

The Kerry Ridge fire continues to burn within the Wollemi national park but has now moved east into the Putty state forest, as well as west into the Coricudgy state forest. The RFS says the blaze, in combination with the Gospers Mountain fire, has moved towards some isolated rural properties.

Updated

First fire upgraded to watch and act

The NSW Rural Fire Service has updated the status of the mega blaze at Gospers Mountain on the central coast to watch and act, saying activity has “increased across the fireground”.

There are a number of fires burning across the Hawkesbury, including at Gospers Mountain where the fire is burning between Newnes and Wisemans Ferry, Putty (St Albans) and Central Colo. The fire has burned through more than 319,000 hectares.

“Conditions are expected to deteriorate today. This may see the fire spread to the east and north following a southerly change,” the RFS says.

Updated

The smoke isn’t just affecting Sydney, believe it or not. Here’s two pictures of the same view across the Hawkesbury River on the NSW central coast. The first, which shows backburning operations, was taken last night. The second, which shows nothing, is from this morning.

Backburning operations in the Hawkesbury region, near Spencer, seen from Marlow last night, NSW, Australia. 9 December 2019.
Backburning operations in the Hawkesbury region, near Spencer, seen from Marlow on Monday night. Photograph: Sylvie Ashford
Smoke on the Hawkesbury , near Spencer, seen from Marlow, NSW, Australia, 10 December 2019.
Smoke on the Hawkesbury, near Spencer, seen from Marlow on Tuesday morning. Photograph: Jeremy Davidson

Updated

Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses the media at Kirribilli House in Sydney on Tuesday. EPA/Joel Carrett
Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison addresses the media at Kirribilli House in Sydney on Tuesday. EPA/Joel Carrett Photograph: Joel Carrett/EPA

Prime Minister Scott Morrison spoke to reporters from smoke-covered Sydney on Tuesday.

“As we can see here, standing on the lawn in Sydney, there are fires across Australia today, particularly here in New South Wales with a mega fire to our north-west which I had the opportunity to be briefed on on the weekend when I visited Wilberforce and the control centre there,” he said.

“But up in Queensland, in Victoria, in South Australia, there are heatwave conditions here on the east coast today. I would just ask, as always, these fires have been going on for months now, not just weeks, and to continue to follow the instructions of fire authorities in your respective states, to be aware of the information that has been provided.”

Our Canberra photographer Mike Bowers took these shots of the sun setting through a cloud of bushfire smoke hanging over Parliament House on Monday evening.

The sun sets through smoke haze over Parliament House Canberra this afternoon. Monday 9th December 2019. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia.
The sun sets through smoke haze over Parliament House Canberra on Monday. Photograph: Mike Bowers/The Guardian
The sun sets through bushfire smoke haze over Parliament House in Canberra. Monday December 2019. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia.
The sun sets through the bushfire smoke haze over Parliament House in Canberra this evening. Monday December 2019. Photograph by Mike Bowers. Guardian Australia

Updated

Andy Ball has made several updates to our map which demonstrates the immense scale of the bushfires.

The area burned in NSW and Queensland is now a staggering 2.9m hectares, which is larger than many small countries – somewhere around the size of Albania.

We also had many requests from people to add more locations for comparison, so it is now possible to reposition the map, and Andy has added a larger number of cities.

Updated

NSW Labor leader Jodi McKay thanks the more than 2,000 firefighters on the ground across the state.

“We know you are weary,” she writes.

Updated

The bushfire smoke has delivered a haunting sunrise over Parliament House in the nation’s capital.

The Bureau of Meteorology says a southerly wind this afternoon will help ease the smoke choking Sydney this morning, though it may not help firefighters battling blazes across the rest of the state.

Updated

Scott Morrison warns "take care" as fire danger increases across NSW

The prime minister, Scott Morrison, has just been speaking about the bushfire crisis. He says there are 111 aircraft working to battle fires not just in NSW but also in Victoria and Queensland.

Emergency assistance payments have been running now for some time and I must say I’ve been incredibly impressed by the coordination that has occurred between our states and territories, with great support from those from overseas.

We’ve had firefighters here from New Zealand, from Canada, from the United States, and they will be out there assisting in so many different roles again today. So I would ask people to take great care and to follow the advice and warnings that have been provided and to stay safe and to exercise appropriate judgment, particularly with fire conditions being the way they are today. Our thoughts are with all of those who are out there doing their job today.

Updated

Sydney has again woken to a thick blanket of smoke, with officials issuing a “poor” air quality alert for the city on Tuesday morning.

By 5am, air quality was graded as “very poor” to “hazardous” in parts of Sydney’s north-west and south-west as well across the Hunter and Central Coast regions.

Air quality also remained “very poor” in Lismore in the state’s north.

Good morning,

New South Wales is staring down another difficult day of bushfire danger, with smoke pollution set to smother Sydney and temperatures to soar past 40C.

The Rural Fire Service commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, warned on Monday that while wind conditions won’t be as difficult as previous high fire danger days, that could be cancelled out by the high temperatures and low humidity expected on Tuesday.

“It’s not as bad as the catastrophic weather we had weeks ago but it’s certainly going to be another difficult day, particularly given the scale and complexity of these fires and their proximity to so much more built-up and populated areas,” he told reporters on Monday.

Almost 3,000 firefighters will be deployed to fight the more than 80 bushfires which continue to burn across the state, including a so-called mega-fire north-west of Sydney, which was formed when the huge Gospers Mountain blaze merged with the neighbouring Little L Complex, Paddock Run, Three Mile and Kerry Ridge fires.

Total fire bans are in place for nine regions across NSW on Tuesday, including in Sydney, amid fears that temperatures in the high 30s to 40s and strengthening winds will fuel existing fires and potentially ignite new ones.

Along with Sydney, total fire bans are in place with “severe” fire danger forecast in the Hunter, Illawarra/Shoalhaven, southern ranges, central ranges, Monaro Alpine and the ACT.

Updated

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