'The smell of smoke is really strong': Cantabrians can smell smoke from Aussie bushfires thousands of kilometres away

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.

This was the sun earlier this afternoon in Christchurch - taken from RAW file, no adjustment other than removing dust from sensor. Obviously the cloud/haze was not that dark, else the sun would be overexposed.

Can now smell smoke in Christchurch. Over 2,000km away.#bushfires pic.twitter.com/GbksdLPSud

— Ice Nine (@IceNine) January 1, 2020

The smell of smoke is really strong in Christchurch. Feel for those across the ditch.

— Craig W (@ChchWoody) January 1, 2020

Bloody hell. I now live in Sydney, where I’ve been choking on bushfire smoke for the past six weeks. In Christchurch for Christmas, the smoke has followed me over the Tasman. We can smell it in Merivale, where it’s blocked out the sun all day.

— CherylBernstein (@CherylBernstein) January 1, 2020

Residents shared photos showing the eerie haze that settled this morning, labelling it "apocalyptic".

Bush fire smoke has arrived in Wanaka. Sunny pic from a couple of days ago #Bushfires pic.twitter.com/nowwPj3kR1

— William Denton (@willdento) December 31, 2019

MetService shared a timelapse video showing the smoke's arrival, saying the phenomenon was observed around the country.

A SnapitHD webcam captured the hazy sunrise over Wanaka this morning which many others across the country also experienced. This is due to smoke from the Australian bush fires being carried across the Tasman by an unbroken northwest flow. ^AC pic.twitter.com/Bo5T8LgOuJ

— MetService (@MetService) December 31, 2019

Poor bloody Aussies if this is Dunedin. https://t.co/W3ifKgKWnR pic.twitter.com/MeX1qPZS2K

— Clive Copeman (@Clive_Copeman) December 31, 2019

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.

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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.