The smoke haze that has blanketed Melbourne over the Easter weekend is expected to clear on Monday night or Tuesday when a cold front moves over Victoria, the Bureau of Meteorology says.
The smoke, mostly from planned burns in Melbourne’s outer east, has hung over much of the city since Good Friday, and the Environment Protection Authority is predicting Melbourne’s air quality will be poor until late on Monday.
Richmond’s Liam Baker prepares to kick the ball as smoke haze hangs around the MCG on Sunday.Credit: AFL Photos
The haze reduced the visibility for those at the MCG watching the AFL match between Richmond and Sydney on Sunday afternoon. Photos and television coverage clearly showed the smoke.
The planned burns, some of which were in the Dandenong Ranges and further afield in Gippsland, were set up to coincide with settled weather conditions over the weekend before forecast rain on Monday.
Planned burning is when controlled fire is used under carefully monitored conditions to burn off fuels, such as grass, leaves and fallen branches, and therefore reduce the risk of bushfire.
There was also an unplanned grassfire in Altona, in Melbourne’s west, that was briefly out of control on Sunday afternoon.
The bureau has issued a severe weather warning for Monday for heavy rainfall and damaging winds for Melbourne and parts of the South West, North Central, North East and Gippsland regions, with 15 to 45 millimetres of rain expected for Melbourne.
Bureau meteorologist Stephanie Miles said the cold front should flush out the smoke later on Monday and into Tuesday, and rain was predicted for both days.
“On Monday morning you are still going to see it, but we have got a big cold front coming on Monday which is going to flush it all out with some nice, clear conditions coming for Melbourne from Monday night onwards,” Miles said, adding it could take longer for the smoke to clear.
“There could be a little bit of smoke hanging around in the east of the state until that cold front goes through on Tuesday morning into Tuesday afternoon.”
The view across Port Phillip Bay from Brighton on Sunday as haze lingered over Melbourne.Credit: Penny Stephens
Miles said a high-pressure ridge along with the calm conditions had allowed the smoke to hang around and made it easier for fog to form.
“It’s a combination as there has definitely been fog around in the morning and definitely smoke as well,” she said.
“But with smoke around, it can increase the particulates in the air, which allows clouds to form a lot easier, and therefore it’s probably a combination of the fog and smoke all at once.”
Miles said anyone with concerns should check the VicEmergency website – emergency.vic.gov.au – or app to see what fire activity and warnings were active near them.
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