Wednesday, September 23, 2009 SYDNEY: A huge outback dust storm swept eastern Australia and blanketed Sydney on Wednesday, disrupting transport, forcing people indoors and stripping thousands of tons of valuable farmland topsoil.The dust blacked out the outback town of Broken Hill on Tuesday, forcing a zinc mine to shut down, and swept 1,167 km (725 miles) east to shroud Sydney in a red glow on Wednesday. By noon on Wednesday the dust storm had spread to the southern part of Australia's tropical state of Queensland.Australia is battling one of its worst droughts and weather officials say an El Nino is slowly developing in the Pacific, which will mean drier conditions for eastern states.International flights were diverted from Sydney, ferries on Sydney Harbour were suspended and commuter motorists warned to take care on roads as visibility was dramatically reduced. The dust set off smoke alarms in some buildings in Sydney's central business district and brought construction to a halt.Health authorities urged people to stay indoors, warning the dust storm was likely to continue into Thursday. More than 200 people called emergency services with breathing difficulties. The official air quality index for New South Wales recorded pollutant levels as high as 4,164 in Sydney. A hazardous level is above 200.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009 SYDNEY: A huge outback dust storm swept eastern Australia and blanketed Sydney on Wednesday, disrupting transport, forcing people indoors and stripping thousands of tons of valuable farmland topsoil.The dust blacked out the outback town of Broken Hill on Tuesday, forcing a zinc mine to shut down, and swept 1,167 km (725 miles) east to shroud Sydney in a red glow on Wednesday. By noon on Wednesday the dust storm had spread to the southern part of Australia's tropical state of Queensland.Australia is battling one of its worst droughts and weather officials say an El Nino is slowly developing in the Pacific, which will mean drier conditions for eastern states.International flights were diverted from Sydney, ferries on Sydney Harbour were suspended and commuter motorists warned to take care on roads as visibility was dramatically reduced. The dust set off smoke alarms in some buildings in Sydney's central business district and brought construction to a halt.Health authorities urged people to stay indoors, warning the dust storm was likely to continue into Thursday. More than 200 people called emergency services with breathing difficulties. The official air quality index for New South Wales recorded pollutant levels as high as 4,164 in Sydney. A hazardous level is above 200.
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