Particulate pollution has soared to levels never seen in Australia in recent hours as the red dust storm intensifies over much of the top three quarters of NSW.
By 10.30am this morning the Sydney eastern suburb of Randwick had gone from low pollution readings to 3066 on the Air Quality Index posted by the NSW Department of the Environment.
A reading of 200 represents the boundary above which fine particles are declared hazardous to the health of fit and unfit persons alike.
In Sydney’s west Bringelly had soared to an AQI reading of 3195, and Kembla Grange near Wollongong was on 2713. But west of the Blue Mountains Bathurst reached 4056 and in the northern tablelands Tamworth went past 2588.
Health authorities are uncertain whether these levels of natural dust will prove as dangerous as the industrial or vehicular emissions, pollen counts and bushfire smoke components that normally drive the AQI numbers.
However the NSW ambulance service says it experiencing higher levels of call outs from asthma sufferers requiring hospital attention.
People are advised to remain indoors where possible and not engage in physical activity.
The dust has insinuated itself into offices and homes over most of the state. You can taste it in your throat as well as smell it, and it is causing eye irritations in many people.
The situation is expected to deteriorate until at least early afternoon, with clearer and less windy conditions forecast by the Bureau of Meteorology for this evening.
How do these particularate figures compare with the great Melbourne dust storm before Ash Wednesday 1983?
Why no advice to the NSW public to wear dust masks?
“Why no advice to the NSW public to wear dust masks?”
Probably because it would conflict with the advice to stay at home. Thousands of people going out to buy dust masks. If you think it’s going to become a regular occurrence, buying some now might be prudent.
Sandworms sighted off Bondu
Is that a reference to Dune? Or the similar monsters in BeetleJuice?
Actually, Ben as you know I’m just away from the Sydney basin, thank God even on the best of smoggy days. So I think there is alot to your point about the bowl effect in story no.1. I drove through South Windsor at 1 pm and at the line of shops there were only two dusted cars parked, mine (south of Windsor) and one other. So they either hosed them quick smart or missed the dust storm.
I drove further north to Cattai toward Maroota say 40 km north west of Sydney cbd and there was little or no evidence of dust but signs of high wind at destination (dunny with no roof). Which suggests to me local air currents play a role in particulate pollution for good and ill and in Sydney that’s for ill.
The real health costs of this storm will not be apparent for some weeks yet. When I lived in Saudi Arabia the Shamaal, a yearly occurring strong Northerly wind always brought sand storms similar to today’s. A couple of weeks later there would be outbreaks of all sorts of illnesses brought about by bacteria that had been buried in the sand for some time, only to be spread far and wide by the winds. I suspect we will see a similar outbreak of illnesses in the weeks to come.