Fine dust particles gold and yellow in colour were blown over large sections of New South Wales from central Australia. The Bureau of Meteorology somehow differentiated this phenomenon from the dust storms we experienced in late September. Apparently a dust storm and dust blown in by wind are not the same.
The photograph shows the dust coming from Sydney over the Central Coast, reducing visibility to few hundred meters. The photograph was taken from President Hill in Gosford just before midday.
Sydneysiders, and in fact most of NSW residents, woke up this morning to a world shrouded in a thick orange dust. Severe winds and unseasonably warm temperatures carried the dust as far as Moree, Dubbo, and Canberra.
The dust has triggered numerous fire alarms, including one at North Sydney station, where the attendants were hard at work calming the public and ensuring the commuters do not panic as it was only a false alarm.
You can smell the dust and taste it and many people choose to wear some forms of mouth and nose covers so they do not inhale the dust.
Today was a beautiful, warm winter day in Sydney. Many people took the opportunity to enjoy the weather and went to the parks or to the our door eateries to enjoy their lunch. These two giggling Asian girls had an ice cream with a very healthy dose of laughter as they were walking down Pitt Street.
For me, as a street photographer, this nice sunny day presented the challenge of extreme light contrast. As you can see from the girls covering their eyes from the sun the light was very intense.
These two girls represent well the confusing weather we had in last few days. One of them is dressed warmly for the Australian winter as temperature has dropped to 6C in the morning. The other girl, who is talking on the mobile phone, is in a mini with a light top as if it was summer. Well the temperature today reached 21C.
The frequent and rather radical temperature jumps provide for a good “cold” season with everyone getting a fair share of sneezing and coughing.
This autumn has been particularly mild. The evenings are starting to be chilly but the days have given us a very pleasant 22plus degrees. The nice weather allows for time in the sun during lunches in Sydney CBD. This man sleeping in the warn sun rays in the Martin Place is a perfect example of how nice the weather is.
