SYDNEY — Sydney was enveloped in a thick bank of hazardous bushfire smoke Monday, forcing authorities in Australia’s largest city to scale back controlled forest burning nearby.
Ferries were cancelled and the city’s five million residents were told to stay indoors if necessary, as air pollution levels spiked.
Levels of hazardous PM 2.5 pollution — particles that can seep deep into the lungs and cause respiratory illnesses — were among the worst in the world at more than 190 on the air quality index.
Australia’s fire services regularly try to carry out “hazard reduction burning” outside summer months, clearing the forest floors of debris that can fuel wildfires.
But th…
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