MULTIMEDIA A huge inland dust storm has swept eastern Australia, blanketing Sydney in a cloud of red dust, disrupting transport, forcing people indoors and stripping thousands of tonnes of valuable topsoil from the nation’s drought-stricken farms.
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The Rocks, Sydney
Palm trees bend as strong westerly winds carrying millions of tonnes of dust from the desert interior shroud the Sydney Harbour Bridge in an eery orange glow
Milsons Point, Sydney
The entrance to Sydney’s 1930s-era fun fair Luna Park peers out through an orange shroud of dust. Dust storms in Australia are not uncommon, but are usually restricted to the inland
Earth, wind and fire
The Bureau of Meteorology said a big cold front in New South Wales caused severe thunderstorms and gale-force winds, which whipped up the dust from the inland. Winds of more than 100 km per hour also fanned bushfires in the state
Pollutants
Marline Koesnadi, a tourist from Indonesia, wears a facemask in the dust storm. The official air quality index for New South Wales recorded pollutant levels as high as 4,164 in Sydney. A level above 200 is hazardous
Brisbane
The storm reached as far north as the southern part of Australia's tropical state of Queensland, wreathing Brisbane and surrounding areas in dust
Climate change
Australia is one of the most vulnerable nations to climate change, but also the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter per capita as it relies on coal-fired power stations for the bulk of its electricity. However, scientists were reluctant to make a direct link between the dust storms and climate change
Topsoil
The storms have stripped valuable topsoil from eastern farmlands. At one stage on Wednesday an estimated 75,000 tonnes of dust per hour was blown across Sydney and dumped in the Pacific Ocean
George Street, Sydney
Pedestrians wear masks in the Sydney’s central business district. Health authorities urged people to stay indoors and more than 200 people called emergency services with breathing difficulties
Red centre
An enhanced colour satellite image shows the dust storm covering eastern Australia. 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
