Sydney is currently under thick clouds of smoke from the bush fires around. In this video I explain the current situation in Sydney.
On December 6, 2019, Sydney woke up to a scene that felt almost apocalyptic. The entire city was blanketed in thick bushfire smoke, turning the sky a strange orange and covering iconic landmarks like the Opera House and Harbour Bridge in haze. This video shows what it looked like to walk through Sydney during one of its worst smoke days in living memory, part of the catastrophic Black Summer bushfires that devastated Australia in 2019–2020.
Air quality across the city dropped to hazardous levels, among the worst recorded anywhere in the world at the time. People wore masks, schools canceled outdoor activities, ferries were delayed, and health warnings urged everyone to stay indoors. Even inside, the smoke seeped through buildings, leaving no escape from the crisis.
The smoke was caused by hundreds of bushfires raging across New South Wales, where record drought and extreme heat created the perfect conditions for disaster. That day, authorities issued a catastrophic fire danger rating, underlining the seriousness of the situation. For people living outside the city, the threat was even greater, with homes, farmland, and forests burning across vast areas.
The Black Summer bushfire season would go on to burn over 18 million hectares of land, destroy thousands of homes, and cause tragic loss of life. It also killed or displaced an estimated one billion animals, making it one of the worst wildlife disasters in history. Smoke from the fires spread not only over Sydney and other parts of Australia but also across the Tasman Sea to New Zealand—and eventually, traces of it were detected as far away as South America.
Walking through Sydney on December 6 felt surreal. The usual bright summer sunshine was hidden, the horizon faded into a brown-grey cloud, and the smell of burning filled the air. The world-famous harbour looked ghostly, ferries crossed waters shrouded in haze, and everyday city life unfolded under a reminder of the devastating fires burning just beyond.
This video is not a travel vlog or a guide—it is an impression of Sydney during the bushfire smoke crisis. It captures what the city looked and felt like on that day when the sky changed colour, the air turned toxic, and the reality of the bushfires reached into the heart of Australia’s largest city.
For many, this moment became a symbol of the climate and environmental challenges Australia faces. It highlighted not only the destructive power of bushfires but also how deeply connected urban areas are to the wider environment. Sydney was not burning itself, but the fires miles away reshaped its air, its atmosphere, and its daily life.
The 2019 Sydney smoke crisis remains one of the most haunting images of the Black Summer. This video documents that reality—a city under smoke, a nation under pressure, and a season that will be remembered for its destruction, its resilience, and the lessons it carries for the future.