"I've lived in Sydney my whole life and Tuesday was the first time we’ve ever had to worry about air pollution," Ms Selmon said. With climate change and a serious bushfire season ahead, she is worried that poor air quality might become an unwelcome new feature of the city. "If this is how Sydney is going to be when bushfire season hits, then it seems sensible to get some of the air pollution masks that they sell in cities like Beijing," she said. "It's really, really scary ... I feel terrible for the firefighters." NSW Health advice for all residents in areas of "hazardous" air quality is to significantly cut back on outdoor physical activities, and for sensitive groups to remain indoors. Where air quality is "poor", people from susceptible groups are advised to monitor their condition and keep reliever medication nearby. National Asthma Council Australia CEO Siobhan Brophy said people with asthma and other lung diseases should not rely on masks, but pay attention to air quality alerts and have a plan in place for managing symptoms.

"For many people [the smoke haze is] just unpleasant but if you’ve got asthma or any other lung conditions ... it can be really uncomfortable and it can bring on an asthma attack," she said. "If you do start to have symptoms ... treat it, use your reliever, if you’ve got a written asthma action plan follow that. And seek help if you need to." Loading Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Jordan Notara said strengthening northerly winds would continue to blow smoke from the state's north over greater Sydney and the Illawarra throughout Thursday. "We may see again some coastal areas clear slightly but we aren't expecting a significant change in the wind direction that would suggest a clear shift in this smoke throughout the day."

The sea breeze is likely to keep temperatures in the mid-high 20s on the coast, he said, while the city's west will join other parts of the state in sweltering into the high-30s. Parts of the state's west are forecast to reach the 40s. Mr Notara said the haze is likely to remain until Friday afternoon when the southerly change comes through. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video With hot and windy weather forecast around the state ahead of that change, there are 12 total fire bans in place due to "very high" and "severe" fire danger. In the state's south-west, where fire danger is "severe", dry lightning is forecast to accompany the change, which could spark more bushfires.

More than 1750 firefighters are on the ground, with 20 uncontained fires burning across the state. At this stage, three fires in NSW are at "watch and act" level. 'Code red' declared in Victoria, evacuations in SA There is a 'code red' for the Mallee and Northern Country. Credit:CFA RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the border with Victoria would be the main focus for NSW firefighters on Thursday. Victorians in the state's north-west are facing a "code red", with residents told their houses are not built to withstand the conditions and they should get to major cities if they can.

In South Australia, a wind change has put lives and homes at risk on the state's York Peninsula as a bushfire continues to burn out of control. Loading On Thursday morning, an emergency warning was issued for the Yorketown fire in South Australia as it threatened the Edithburgh township before being downgraded to a watch and act message. The Yorketown fire is one of more than 40 that broke out across SA on Wednesday amid catastrophic conditions with soaring temperatures and high winds. A number of those prompted emergency warnings including two north of Adelaide, one in the Barossa Valley and a second fire on Yorke Peninsula.

Smoke from the Yorketown fire has blanketed Adelaide on Thursday morning, much like the scenes in Sydney. While there have been concerns about potential loss of life in South Australia, no deaths have been recorded, while 33 people have been treated for minor injuries. Tasmania is also bracing for its most dangerous fire conditions this bushfire season, with dry winds and hot temperatures forecast. In Queensland, firefighters managed to reduce the number of bushfires on Wednesday despite near 40-degree temperatures and dangerous winds. Firefighters are now expecting a four-day reprieve from the dangerous conditions.

Climate change response 'no bearing' on fires: PM The Prime Minister said domestic climate action has no bearing on individual fires raging across Australia. Prime Minister Scott Morrison rejected suggestions the government hadn't properly prepared for the fire season. Credit:Elesa Kurtz "To suggest that with just 1.3 per cent of global emissions that Australia doing something differently – more or less – would have changed the fire outcome this season, I don't think that stands up to any credible scientific evidence at all," he told ABC radio on Thursday. "Climate change is a global phenomenon and we're doing our bit as part of the response to climate change."

The Prime Minister said he didn't meet with 23 former fire chiefs and emergency services leaders calling for a climate emergency declaration in April because the government already had advice about the upcoming season. Loading "This is why we put the additional resources into our emergency services and our aviation firefighting assets." The Prime Minister said there had been a well prepared and coordinated approach to fighting fires this season, rejecting suggestions the government wasn't ready. "We're getting on with the job, preparing for what has already been a very devastating fire season," he said.