Giant dust storm sweeps across Australia, raises health concerns

A giant dust storm has blanketed communities across south-east Australia, turning skies orange and raising concerns about air quality.

The dust storm measuring 500 kilometers (310 miles) in length sweeping across Australia's southeast is blanketing towns in a red haze and raising health concerns.

Satellite images show the wall of dust roughly the same distance from London to Paris as it moves across New South Wales towards the coast.

Authorities issued a public health alert for Sydney on Thursday, rating the air particle quality as very poor and warning children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems to stay inside.

Authorities said the storm was driven by strong winds picking up dry soil.

The problem has been exacerbated by a drought that has affected the entire state of NSW since August, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Paramedics said dozens of people had reported breathing or asthma difficulties on Thursday, but the number affected by dust was not immediately clear.

In Sydney, the dust darkened skies and caused "hazardous" air quality readings in some suburbs.

Health officials urged locals to stay indoors, particularly children, older people and those with respiratory problems.

The current dust storm was caused by strong winds ahead of a low-pressure system that picked up masses of loose dust particles, the result of prolonged drought in the state, according to Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

Australia is suffering from one of the worst droughts in living memory resulting in water shortages and failed crops. Farmer's livelihoods have been devastated as grazing fields have turned into dry, barren land.

In August, the whole of New South Wales, the country's most populous state, was declared 100% in drought. A month later the country experienced the driest month in more than a century.