Health warning as smoke blankets city
Brisbane’s air quality has dropped to dangerous levels as blazes continue to burn west of the city.
A health warning has been issued for Brisbane as bushfire smoke blankets the city.
Official air monitors recorded hazardous pollution across Brisbane at 6am on Monday, with toxic particle levels in some suburbs spiking to nearly four times the safe limit.
Visibility also has been reduced on major roads.
According to authorities, Cannon Hill is the worst affected, followed by the Brisbane CBD, South Brisbane and Woolloongabba.
It comes as an unseasonably hot start to spring also led to a number of bushfires over the weekend.
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Queensland fire authorities issued local fire bans for Ipswich and the Lockyer Valley on Sunday as temperatures typically seen in summer gripped the state’s southeast.
Firefighters in the afternoon told residents at Plainland, west of Ipswich, to prepare to leave in response to a dangerous and fast-moving bushfire near the Warrego Highway.
That warning was downgraded to a Stay Informed advisory by the evening, but the blaze is expected to continue to burn for several days.
Locals have been urged to stay indoors, close windows and keep respiratory medication close by.
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Queensland Fire Department warnings to avoid smoke remained active across several regional areas, including Chinchilla, Torbanlea, Berajondo, Upper Cooyar Creek, and Mount Mort to Rosewood.
Meanwhile, Brisbane reached a high of 34.4C on Sunday, making it the hottest September day in the city since 2019.
“If we get a run of westerlies, potentially we can see some late afternoon heat if those westerlies increase and brings some hotter air out towards Brisbane from inland,” the Bureau of Meteorology’s Steve Hadley said.
Coastal areas from Gladstone to the Gold Coast came a few degrees shy of breaking the record for the state’s highest recorded temperatures for the start of spring.
The state had experienced its third-warmest winter on record with temperatures 1.8C above the long-term average.
Temperatures are expected to drop in the coming days but firefighters will continue to face tough conditions, with fire danger ratings staying moderate across the Southeast Coast before climbing to high across central and western parts of Queensland later in the week.
-with AAP
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