Sydney again woke to another blanket of smoke on Tuesday, the thicket yet since the start of the bushfire season.
The haze settled across the CBD, the harbour and inner city prompting warnings from health experts to avoid unnecessary exposure.
NSW is now gasping under the worst levels of air pollution ever recorded with air quality index (AQI) reaching as high as 11 times hazardous levels, the ABC reports.
Famous Sydney landmarks have disappeared under the dense haze, fire alarms have been activated across the city and ferry services have been suspended until further notice.
The #SydneySmoke hashtag trended on Twitter on Tuesday, with many people calling on Prime Minister Scott Morrison to address the “climate emergency.”
“I can’t believe I am breathing this,” wrote one user.
“Fire alarms are going off all around the city,” posted another.
Swimmers have shared images of ash washed up on Balmoral Beach on Sydney’s North Shore.
Here are some of the alarming images from Sydney on Tuesday:
Firefighters across the east coast were bracing for a fresh wave of fires as temperatures across NSW were expected to soar.
More than 100 fires are ablaze in NSW and Victoria, many of which have been burning for several weeks - including a single blaze that stretches more than 60 km in a national park north of Sydney.
Conditions were set to worsen on Tuesday as temperatures top 40 degrees Celsius and winds are expected to start picking up, stoking fears that fires could spread to more populated areas