1500-Thick Blanket Of Bushfire Smoke Covers Melbourne, Producing Worst Air Quality On Record

[hatrack]

THICK smoke from bushfires again covered Melbourne in a blanket nearly 1500m thick today, contributing to the city's worst ever air quality.

Winds from the east created a pall across the city, which blocked out the sun and kept temperatures down. And the thick bushfire smoke cloaking led the city to record its poorest air quality since records began.

The Environment Protection Authority (EPA) recorded visibility of less than 2km in the CBD as the level of fine air particles soared up to 7.5 times its normal level. But the choking factor was not as bad as a week ago when air quality was 10 times worse than average.

The bushfires that began almost a fortnight ago have led Melbourne to record its poorest air quality in over 20 years, eclipsing the dust storms of 1983 and the 2003 bushfires, Mr Williamson said. "Certainly the smoke has resulted in the poorest air quality ever recorded since we've been recording in Melbourne."

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http://www.news.com.au/heraldsun/story/0,21985,20957207-5010763,00.html