Melburnians woke up to another morning of smoke-filled air on Monday, due to 16 planned fires around the area.
As of 1:50pm, the air quality index on IQAir for Mooroolbark (171), Box Hill (163), Dandenong (158), Southbank (154) was at unhealthy levels.
In fact, the readings were worse than for cities like Beijing and Wuhan in China, Mumbai in India and Milano in Italy.
At 11:45am, Mooroolbark’s (241) air quality index was higher than Delhi in India (188) and Dhaka in Bangladesh (176).
The community has been left to grapple with the torrid conditions after Melbourne wxjmtzywas engulfed in smoke less than two weeks ago due to planned burns as well.
“Keeping the office window open for ventilation but the smoke from hazard reduction burn-offs is setting off coughing & slight shortness of breath,” user @YungEnChee1 said on Twitter.
“Another terrible night for those in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne, dealing with smoke from planned burns once again making a lot of people’s lives miserable,” another user @KonomiKitten said.
The smoke is due to 23 planned burns which have taken place in Victoria since Friday, with 16 in the greater Melbourne area.
Chief fire officer at Forest Fire Management Victoria, Chris Hardman, told 3AW on Monday they’re doing the burns to reduce the risk of bushfires.
“Autumn is a critical time of the year for us to do that planned burning,” Mr Hardman said.
“It is the best weather for burning and this is when we deliver most of our bushfire risk reduction works.”
The Bureau of Meteorology said southerly winds this afternoon may help disperse the smoke.
Forest Fire Management Victoria has advised people who are sensitive to smoke to limit prolonged or heavy physical activity and stay indoors where possible.
Anyone experiencing wheezing, chest tightness and difficulty breathing should call Triple Zero.
The EPA’s air forecast is “fair to very poor” for Melbourne on Tuesday.
