The sky above the Sky Tower in Auckland on Sunday afternoon. Photo / Luke Kirkness
Scores of Kiwis across the North Island are gobsmacked at the impact smoke from the Australian bushfires is having on New Zealand.
Driven by an upper-level jet of westerly winds from Australia, smoke from the raging bushfires created a hazy-orange tint over the North Island from the blazes more than 2000km away.
Auckland weather today #NOFILTER Eerie and scary #prayingforAustralia pic.twitter.com/aIqExWuF4f
— Namita (@Namita33832413) January 5, 2020
Social media quickly became awash with people posting pictures of their surroundings as if they used a sepia filter - except they hadn't.
"It's eerie and scary," one person wrote on Twitter.
"There's an orange tinge in the sky and it's heartbreaking," said another.
Authorities in Australia fear "significant damage and destruction" with dozens of buildings potentially lost as a number of bushfires rage on.
This is what the smoke looked like coming into Auckland this afternoon. Video via @MetService. pic.twitter.com/ansb27CPaI
— Isaac Blomfield 🚗 (@NewZulund) January 5, 2020
Overnight, the Rural Fire Service advised "fires were spreading quickly" particularly in southern New South Wales around Bega, Shoalhaven and the Southern Highlands close to Sydney.
It’s 2pm in Auckland yet it feels like the sun is about to set. An eerie, dark orange tinted sky filled with smoke from the #Australia bushfires over 2000km away.
— Dr Michelle Dickinson (@medickinson) January 5, 2020
Climate Change Knows No Borders pic.twitter.com/HtoTLLXQOX
In NSW there are currently three emergency warnings in place for out-of-control fires. Some 143 fires were burning across NSW on Saturday night, with 3600 firefighters on the ground.
Auckland is orange pic.twitter.com/XF24xCL3W5
— Vaex_Darastrix (@LordAxiom) January 5, 2020
No Filter - 2.30pm Auckland. Eerie pic.twitter.com/3FUeyGBDea
— Andrew R 😷 (@andrewr124xx) January 5, 2020
Orange sky, smoke from Australian Bushfires. Very eerie pic.twitter.com/464KvxdK1z
— Shell Riggs Harvey (@riggs_shell) January 5, 2020
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said they were receiving reports of "significant damage and destruction" on Saturday night after more than a dozen blazes reached an emergency warning alert level throughout the day. He believed property losses could run into the dozens.
Wellington vs Auckland this afternoon pic.twitter.com/Sv2cqpB1aI
— Simon Ward (@simonmward) January 5, 2020
Auckland webcam https://t.co/6BT85CWg2p pic.twitter.com/jMlgC0diRq
— Christina Hood (@cjhood71) January 5, 2020
More evacuation orders were issued to Victorians overnight as massive blazes continued to ravage the state's east. Dozens of fires were burning in Victoria early on Sunday, 13 of which were subject to emergency warnings, the highest alert level. Six people are missing.
Four Fire & Rescue NSW firefighters were injured overnight and another person has died as a result of the bushfires in NSW, with a man suffering a heart attack while trying to save his friend's home, Premier Gladys Berejiklian has confirmed.
"Very sadly one person lost their life due to a cardiac arrest just outside of Batlow last night and police have just issued details about that one deceased person and, of course, our hearts, thoughts and minds go to their families during this very difficult time," Berejiklian said in a press conference this morning.
Last week, parts of the South Island experienced the same phenomenon - which even turned Fox and Franz Josef glaciers caramel brown.
Cantabrians also said they were able to smell the smoke as it clogged the skies above them.
MetService meteorologist Tahlia Crabtree said as long as the fires continue, it was likely the smoke could impact our skies again.
"Hazy orange skies giving a taste of what is being seen in Australia were brought to our shores by northwest winds," Crabtree said.
READ MORE:
• Australian bushfires: Death toll rises in NSW
• Australian bush fire crisis: Conditions 'may not be survivable'
• Three fires merge: Blazes combine to create 6000-hectare inferno in Australia
• Australian bushfires: Threat intensifies as PM Scott Morrison calls up 3000 army reservists
"As long as these fires continue, it's not unreasonable to expect a repeat of New Year's day when the winds are blowing the right direction."
Using model wind data, the back trajectory of the smoke shows it had arched downwards from Australia over the Tasman Sea before shooting back across the North Island.
Using model wind data, the back trajectory shows where the smoke has come from since 5pm last night. The forecast trajectory shows much of the smoke tracking across the upper North Island this evening. ^Tahlia pic.twitter.com/AGGVutfmnf
— MetService (@MetService) January 4, 2020
#smoke #Auckland from #AustraliaBushfires pic.twitter.com/mPmZ6KL4OR
— Antoinette (@Antoine72205519) January 5, 2020
A satellite image of the North Island showed smoke first starting to make its way over the country around 2pm, with more tracking behind the first wave.
Reaching Auckland around 2pm, the skies darkened and an orange tint filtered across the city.
WeatherWatch.co.nz reported the gloomy weather would continue for the rest of the day, thickening later this afternoon.
Eerie orange colour in the sky today. Likely effects of the fires across the ditch. Only 3pm. #AustraliaBurns pic.twitter.com/JFHwB2fJ9m
— x - Dolores Herrmann (@deejaydi) January 5, 2020
I live in New Zealand and this eerie sepia sky is from the Aussie bushfires! I can't stop thinking about Australia and how devastating this is! 😢 pic.twitter.com/fYvn8jlkNL
— Julia (@narcynite) January 5, 2020
The Auckland CBD in New Zealand is sepia. It’s 2pm and it looks like dusk. The light is so warm-toned that my phone screen looks vibrant blue. Sydney is 2155km away (a ~3 hour flight). The mood here is incredibly eerie. This is what climate change looks like. pic.twitter.com/AL9Ucohk7o
— Gala Georgette (@GalaGeorgette) January 5, 2020
Persistent showers and unseasonably cool temperatures were expected throughout much of the week, MetService reported.
Strong southwesterlies were set to drive in the poor weather, with a risk of thunderstorms and hail looming or much of the South Island tomorrow.
However, a brief ridge would make its way onto the country later on Thursday.
Additional reporting via News.com.au
Police say they are following lines of inquiry to catch the offender.