Even though the country is more than 2,000 kilometres away, Australia’s massive wildfires have impacted New Zealand as well.
Satellite imagery taken on Jan. 2 shows the haze from Australia blowing eastward off the coast into the Tasman Sea, which separates Australia and New Zealand.
Heavy haze turned Akaroa Harbor near Christchurch, N.Z., a shade of yellow on Jan. 1, a photo shows.
On the west coast of New Zealand’s South Island, Westland Tai Poutini National Park faced smoky skies and snow that appeared beige due to ash, social media photos obtained by Reuters show.
The so-called “caramelized” snow was observed near Franz Josef glacier on New Year’s Day.
On Friday morning, New Zealand’s Weather Watch said most of the smoke has flowed beyond the country, but more plumes are possible over the weekend.
While New Zealand is often affected by smoke from Australia’s wildfire season, this year was “almost unprecedented,” the outlet stated in an article on Wednesday.
“Smoke is so thick the skies have darkened significantly and people have lights on in the middle of the day.”
Air quality for much of New Zealand is currently rated “good,” according to the World Air Quality Index.
So far this season, Australia’s bushfires have razed more than 4 million hectares (10 million acres) and destroyed more than 1,000 homes.
Fires are burning around the country but the southeastern states of Victoria and New South Wales have been affected most dramatically.
— With files from Reuters
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