New normal

Everyday I think the smoke haze is at its worst, and every day I am wrong.  It was 33C at 10pm last night and a wind change had brought in thick smoke.  The air quality is now the worst in the world.  I've been in Beijing, Delhi, Manila and Jakarta and none of those were as bad as the air quality is here.  We had the hottest day ever yesterday.

The smoke was so awful this morning that I drove to the 24 hour pharmacy and bought some P2 masks for when I set foot outside and eucalyptus oil to try and clear the air.  I've kept the animals in today.

I spent most of the day reading and refreshing my twitter feed anxious that friends and family were safe - they are - but there is still no news of my friend's house and the danger is real and current.  My kids' dad is ok so far - they have ash all over their house but so far no ember attacks or spot fires.

Our PM is now trying to shift the blame to the state governments or to the Greens and it is rage inducing to see the narrative turned upside down.  As carol baby commented on instagram this morning Oceania had always been at war with Eastasia.  All we can do is to continually and vocally correct these narratives when we see or hear them.

I looked at a map someone had done of the fire risks in this city.  My beloved ridge where I walk the dog in the mornings is a danger zone and a tinder box ready to be ignited and only two hundred metres from our house.  I need to check the state of the gutters.  

Many shops and cafes are closed unwilling to subject their staff to the smoke haze, and wanting to release people who have friends and family with homes to protect.  The National Gallery closed so as not to cause smoke damage to the paintings.

I'm back at work tomorrow but will have to check the state of the air in the office in case I need to work at home.  More than that, everyone's mental health is fragile.  I can't imagine the PTSD that our poor fireys and people who have had to flee will suffer.

In less grim news, I spent some good time talking to ganching last night and planning an adventure.  

Comments

[carolbaby]

It's utterly horrific and you can do not much other than feel completely helpless.

I can't even begin to imagine the long term impact this is all going to have on, well, everything. I'm inclined to stockpile food.

The Guardian live feed has been brilliant - particularly at clearly pointing out the Scomo spin and bullshit. It would be one thing for the Govt to say "hey, we were wrong and we now accept X, now let's get on and do Y", but this litany of outright and easily disproven lies honestly leaves me reeling. In relatively recent times a PM would have been quickly sacked for the repeated missteps. I'm cynical enough to acknowledge that this is not likely to happen.

(thank you for the correct version of my poorly remembered quotation!)

I hope everyone remains safe!

I'm looking forward to hearing about the adventure planning.

[Lisa]

I wonder if you have an air purifier? When we had the terrible Napa fires here we bought two purifiers and ran them day and night. Having bad air changes everything. I hope your rains come sooner than later.