December 7, 2019

Andrew Campbell 

On Thursday Dec. 5, 2019 Sydney had encountered hazardous levels as smoke haze blanketed the city basin and surrounding areas, fanned by strong, hot, westerly winds.

Authorities are fighting nearly 140 fires across New South Wales, with strong winds stoking several blazes out of control.

“So we've got a few in particular to the southwest and northwest of Sydney, they include the Three Mile, Gospers Mountain, Wright's Creek fires on the Central Coast, the Ruin Castle, the Green Wattle Creek and Kowmung River fires in the Blue Mountains,” she said.

Though bushfires are common, this year’s fire season in Australia has begun much earlier than usual. Besides, temperatures have soared above 40 degrees C before the beginning of the southern summer and high winds keep sweeping the drought-parched landscape. 

The crisis has put pressure on Scott Morrison, Prime Minister, who is criticized for not doing enough to deal with the impact of climate change, which is said to extend fire season.

Photo:Webshot.