A 33-year-old man has been arrested and charged after climbing the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Despite fog blanketing the city this morning, the man managed to scale the bridge before police turned up at 6:15am, having received information someone was climbing the arch and carrying a banner.

The man had also parked his car on the northern end of the bridge, which blocked traffic.

The Sydney Harbour Bridge was barely visible under a cloud of fog. ( AAP )

It took officers from the Police Rescue and Bomb Disposal Unit an hour and 20 minutes to bring the man down from the bridge.

He was taken to Day Street Police Station where he was charged with damage, disruption or obstruction of Sydney Harbour Bridge, which carries a maximum $22,000 fine and two years in jail.

He was refused bail and will attend Central Local Court on Monday.

Police said traffic on the Cahill Expressway was disrupted for an hour.