The air quality in Australia's East Coast city of Sydney plummeted to levels comparable to New Delhi, the Indian capital and one of the world's most polluted metropolises.

The air quality in Australia's East Coast city of Sydney plummeted to levels comparable to New Delhi, the Indian capital and one of the world's most polluted metropolises. The usually clear and blue skies of Sydney transformed into a greyish, dystopic-looking scenery as the capital of North South Wales struggled with smoke coming from Duck Creek, Pilliga Forest bushfire some 400 kilometres away. According to reports, the air quality index hit 161 in the city's downtown area after 5 pm (0600 GMT). The poor quality of air has forced the authorities to issue advisories urging people to avoid prolonged outdoor exercise. According to the Rural Fire Service (RFS), the bushfires have spread roughly across 136,000 hectares (336,000) acres, an area almost the size of Greater London in the south and the smoke is continuously drifting towards Sydney. "We are seeing smoke drift from the Duck Creek-Pilliga Forest fire, which is burning in the northern part of the state, being pushed under very strong northerly winds down into the Hunter and it's being experienced in greater Sydney region as well," RFS spokesperson Greg Allan said. Watch | Delhi AQI: Air pollution in India's New Delhi turns 'severe', Delhi AQI stands at 468 × RFS said as many as 450 firefighters and other personnel were on the ground, working to control the blazes in easing conditions for the north of the state. Although no total fire ban has been applied so far, a high fire danger rating remains in place for an area stretching from Sydney’s west to the Victorian border. Temperatures reached into the mid-30s for Sydney, parts of the mid-north coast, and northwest and central-west slopes and plains. Delhi's pollution woes While the AQI reaching 161 is a one-off incident in Sydney, the pollution levels in Delhi constantly hover between 74 and 225. In the first couple of weeks of November, the levels usually surpass 400 as well due to stubble burning in the neighbouring states. Also read | Delhi's pollution woes likely to be solved by artificial rain after IIT Kanpur steps in Last month, the Delhi government ordered an early winter break in schools from November 9 to 18 due to deteriorating air quality. All construction work was stopped and the cabs from outside the state were not allowed to enter the capital. To reduce the pollution level, the Delhi government had mulled using cloud seeding to induce artificial rainfall. The proposal, however, remains in the preliminary stage so far. (With inputs from agencies)

Sydney and Delhi’s air quality on par after Duck Creek, Pilliga Forest bushfire

Bushfires eased near&nbsp;Australia's&nbsp;capital, Canberra, on Monday, as temperatures dipped, but officials warned heavy&nbsp;smoke&nbsp;was set to blow into the city with a shift in the wind.

While a&nbsp;fire&nbsp;continued to burn out of control southwest of Canberra, warnings were downgraded to "advice" for people in the area, with no properties under&nbsp;threat.

Around a quarter of the land in the Australian&nbsp;Capital&nbsp;Territory, home to Canberra, has been hit by wildfires over the past few weeks, fueled by hot and windy conditions. Temperatures fell on Monday to around 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit).

<img alt="Firefighters spray water on smouldering patches left in the wake of a bushfire near Bumbalong, New South Wales, Australia, February 2, 2020." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="bbc7e263-0fff-4393-ab69-51ccd2aa96c7" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%2812%29_8.jpg" />

"A change in wind direction is expected to bring heavy&nbsp;smoke&nbsp;over urban areas of Canberra," the <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/cannabis-legalised-in-australian-capital-territory-251966">Australian&nbsp;Capital&nbsp;Territory</a> (ACT) Emergency Services said on its web site.

Firefighters in <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/abortion-effectively-decriminalised-in-australia-as-new-south-wales-passes-new-bill-252101">New South Wales</a> were battling blazes in the state's southeast, where seven homes were destroyed over the weekend, the NSW Rural&nbsp;Fire&nbsp;Service said. Conditions eased on Monday with showers and cooler temperatures.

Australia's&nbsp;prolonged&nbsp;bushfire&nbsp;season has killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals since September. About 2,500 homes have been destroyed and more than 11.7 million hectares (45,175 square miles) of tinder-dry bushland have been razed.

The&nbsp;fire&nbsp;crisis led 274 scientists to urge the Australian government, which has refused to raise targets for cutting <a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/un-report-warns-greenhouse-gas-levels-hit-new-record-high-264730">greenhouse gas emissions</a>, to take more drastic action and move toward net-zero emissions by 2050.

<img alt="Firefighters spray water on smouldering patches left in the wake of a bushfire near Bumbalong, New South Wales, Australia, February 2, 2020." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d0092166-10c4-42e7-8841-ef2415513417" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%2811%29_13.jpg" />

"Australia's&nbsp;dangerous&nbsp;fire-weather is virtually certain to worsen in the future with ongoing human-induced climate change, making&nbsp;fire&nbsp;management increasingly challenging," the climate and&nbsp;fire&nbsp;experts from all over the world said in an open letter.

<img alt="Firefighters spray water on smouldering patches left in the wake of a bushfire near Bumbalong, New South Wales, Australia, February 2, 2020." data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="74621bc3-e0f2-44e1-9a97-3fcee112dbf9" src="//cdn.wionews.com/sites/default/files/inline-images/Untitled%20design%20%2810%29_17.jpg" />

The&nbsp;fires have also damaged thousands of kilometers of power lines, destroyed more than 5,000 power poles and cut power to 80,000 homes, industry group Energy Networks Australia said on Monday.

"The devastation has been unprecedented," it said.

Bushfires eased near Australia's capital, Canberra, on Monday, as temperatures dipped, but officials warned heavy smoke was set to blow into the city with a shift in the wind.

Bushfires eased near Australia's capital, Canberra, on Monday, as temperatures dipped, but officials warned heavy smoke was set to blow into the city with a shift in the wind. While a fire continued to burn out of control southwest of Canberra, warnings were downgraded to "advice" for people in the area, with no properties under threat. Around a quarter of the land in the Australian Capital Territory, home to Canberra, has been hit by wildfires over the past few weeks, fueled by hot and windy conditions. Temperatures fell on Monday to around 28 degrees Celsius (82 degrees Fahrenheit). "A change in wind direction is expected to bring heavy smoke over urban areas of Canberra," the Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Emergency Services said on its web site. Firefighters in New South Wales were battling blazes in the state's southeast, where seven homes were destroyed over the weekend, the NSW Rural Fire Service said. Conditions eased on Monday with showers and cooler temperatures. Australia's prolonged bushfire season has killed 33 people and an estimated 1 billion native animals since September. About 2,500 homes have been destroyed and more than 11.7 million hectares (45,175 square miles) of tinder-dry bushland have been razed. The fire crisis led 274 scientists to urge the Australian government, which has refused to raise targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions, to take more drastic action and move toward net-zero emissions by 2050. "Australia's dangerous fire-weather is virtually certain to worsen in the future with ongoing human-induced climate change, making fire management increasingly challenging," the climate and fire experts from all over the world said in an open letter. The fires have also damaged thousands of kilometers of power lines, destroyed more than 5,000 power poles and cut power to 80,000 homes, industry group Energy Networks Australia said on Monday. "The devastation has been unprecedented," it said.

Bushfire smoke blows into Australia's capital as fire threat eases

In pics: Nature's wrath — Inferno in Australia

Strong winds stoked more than 100 fires across Australia's east coast on Tuesday, blanketing Sydney in hazardous smoke and prompting health warnings for the country's most populous city.

Australia: Hazardous thick layer of bushfire smoke covers Sydney

The United States on Monday effectively backed Israel's right to build Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank by abandoning its four-decade-old position that they were "inconsistent with international law," a stance that may make Israeli-Palestinian peace even more elusive.

Reversal of U.S. on it's long standing policy on Israeli settlements

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