City
Epaper

Aussie bushfire smoke turn NZ skies 'eerie' yellow

By IANS | Updated: January 2, 2020 14:25 IST

Smoke from the raging bushfires in Australia has turned the skies in neighbouring New Zealand into an "eerie" yellow colour along with haze and a burnt smell in the air.

Open in App

The smoke first reached New Zealand's South Island on Tuesday turning skies a hazy yellow. By Thursday, the haze and burnt smell had also reached the North Island.

"I have never seen anything like the haze over the past 48 hours," Arthur McBride of glacier tour company Alpine Guides told the BBC on Thursday.

Tourist flights up to Tasman, Franz Josef and Fox glaciers are a popular way to experience New Zealand's stunning mountain scenery.

But for the past days, visitors have endured a thick yellow haze, instead of the white snow and bright blue skies expected.

"Wednesday afternoon was particularly bad," McBride said, adding: "The smell of woodsmoke is still distinct."

Over the past days, a few trips also had to be cancelled, he said.

Australia and New Zealand are separated by around 2,000 km of the Tasman Sea.

The peaks around the tourist city of Queenstown were also covered in haze.

Over the past days, the people of Dunedin on South Island woke up to a noticeably darker sky, according to local media, and there's been a strong yellowish twilight over the town.

Australia is grappling with bushfire crisis fuelled by record-breaking temperatures and months of drought, the BBC reported.

At least 17 people are confirmed to have been killed by the bushfires, which have burned vast areas of several Australian states, including the worst-hit New South Wales.

Several people were still missing with conditions expected to worsen over the weekend.

( With inputs from IANS )

Tags: New South WalesNew ZealandArthur McbrideSouth Island
Open in App

Related Stories

InternationalEarthquake in New Zealand: Quake of Magnitude 6.8 Hits Riverton Coast

MumbaiMumbai Shocker: A Female posted at Australian Navy Molested In Mumbai, Accused Driver Arrested

CricketNZ vs PAK 2025: Hasan Nawaz Breaks Ex-Captain Babar Azam's Record of Scoring Fastest T20I Century For Pakistan

CricketNZ vs PAK 3rd T20I 2025: Hasan Nawaz Sets New Powerplay Record for Pakistan in T20Is

CricketIndia Wins Champions Trophy 2025: Fans in Mumbai, Pune and Delhi Celebrate India’s Victory With Firecrackers, and Waving Flags (Watch Video)

International Realted Stories

InternationalIndia insisted on direct communication between the DGMOs, rejecting any third-party assurances: Sources

InternationalMuslim World League welcomes 'ceasefire agreement' between India and Pakistan

InternationalMore than 100 terrorists captured in Judea, Samaria

InternationalCrown Prince of Abu Dhabi arrives in Astana on official visit

InternationalJaishankar talks to Egyptian FM, emphasises importance of "zero tolerance" for terrorism