Cool change sees dust storm dump fine particles over eastern Australia, with a pink hue over Sydney and cars coated in dust

This article is more than 1 year old

This article is more than 1 year old

Large parts of New South Wales and the ACT have been blanketed in dust after a cool change blew clouds of fine particles over eastern Australia, causing a sharp drop in air quality.

As government scientists in NSW confirmed December and January as the state’s dustiest ever, millions of people woke on Wednesday to find a reddish hue in the morning sky and cars coated in dust.

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The dust cloud stretched 1,500km from western NSW to the ocean, reaching Canberra on Tuesday afternoon and pushing over Sydney and a large area of eastern NSW overnight.

A dust storm sweeps across the eastern states of Australia. Photograph: Japan Meteorological Agency

Bureau of Meteorology, New South Wales (@BOM_NSW) Leading edge of the #duststorm is now reaching #Sydney, after pushing through #Canberra this afternoon & making its way up the #NSW coast. #Dust will build until the change hits the city late tonight. What's truly amazing is the pink is raised dust being pushed north west pic.twitter.com/zSb1e55j0w

NSW health authorities issued air quality warnings for the Illawarra, upper Hunter, south-west Sydney, north-west Sydney and the south-west slopes advising people, especially those with heart and lung conditions, to stay inside as much as possible.

2GB 873 (@2GB873) A dust storm is expected to hit Sydney later this evening.



Listener Nick sent in these photos from Cootamundra. pic.twitter.com/PXWYQt5GL4

The air quality index in south-west Sydney was listed as very poor with levels of PM10 particles between 150-199, and hazardous in the Illawarra and and south-west slopes with PM10 levels of over 200 – the same as parts of Delhi, one of the world’s most polluted cities.

Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) Entirely normal and not scary to hear dust smacking against the side of your plane while in the sky (video once we cleared it) pic.twitter.com/9YnMCvZk6R

PM10 particles are those less than 10 micrometers in diameter, which are small enough to enter into the lungs and can cause serious health problems including asthma and heart and lung problems.

However, a southerly wind was expected to blow the dust away from the Sydney and coastal area on Wednesday.

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The dust storm followed another hot day across eastern Australia on Tuesday with temperatures reaching the mid-30s in Sydney and coastal areas and into the low 40s in some parts further inland.

Dust storms are caused when strong winds lift loose earth and sand from arid landscapes and deposit them high in the atmosphere. The dust is then caught up in cold fronts and dumped back on the land.

Helen Davidson (@heldavidson) Luckily the pilot was really comforting ahead of the landing. '60kmph winds from the west, zero visibility, and a dust storm. It'll be a bit bumpy.'

A spokesperson for the NSW office of environment and heritage said December and January had been the dustiest on record. December had 23 hours of dust, which is defined as visibility less than 10km, while January had an average of 38 hours of dust across its 21 stations in western NSW.

The DustWatch project has 36 stations across NSW and a few in SA and Victoria. The aim is to measure the extent and severity of wind erosion. Wind erosion is the major cause of dust storms. Wind erosion reduces the soils productivity and dust storms impact the community via air pollution