Residents in Canterbury are reporting smelling strong whiffs of smoke from the Australian bush fires burning thousands of kilometers away.
Numerous people in Christchurch posted on social media about smelling smoke in the last hour.
It comes after a day of haze over the South Island from the devastating Australian bush fires, which have claimed seven lives.
Residents shared photos showing the eerie haze that settled this morning, labelling it "apocalyptic".
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MetService shared a timelapse video showing the smoke's arrival, saying the phenomenon was observed around the country.
The MetService said yesterday that the haze would spread northwards over week, until a front sweeps it away at the weekend.
The decade closed to an inferno in Australia with holidaymakers huddled on the beaches, whole towns devoured, dozens of homes destroyed and at least two lives lost on the deadliest day of the worst bush fire season on record.
As more than 100 fires burned across NSW, in Victoria, 20 major fires continue to burn, four people are missing and thousands of homes have lost power as the Defence Force moves in to help evacuate people.
Five liquor stores in and around Tauranga have been caught selling booze to minors.