Sunday Selections #459

Sunday Selections was originally brought to us by Kim, of Frogpondsrock, as an ongoing meme where participants could post previously unused photos languishing in their files.

Huge thanks to Cie who gave me this wonderful Sunday Selections image.
  
The meme was then continued by River at Drifting through life.  Sadly she has now stepped aside (though she will join us some weeks), and I have accepted the mantle.
 
The rules are so simple as to be almost non-existent.  Post some photos under the title Sunday Selections and link back to me. Clicking on any of the photos will make them embiggen. 
 
I usually run with a theme.  This week, as I so often do, I am featuring skyscapes.

These first images were taken just after dawn.

A brooding and heavy sky, with dust coloured highlights.

These next images were taken later in the day (over the course of several days).

 Sunset?

Rich, glowing sunsets?

Well not exactly.  These were taken in the late afternoon.  The smoke, dust and ash from fires has enveloped our city for the last ten days or so.  When the wind gets up it blows the debris from the fires and the drought across the sky and obscures the sun.

It is expected to continue to do so for the next week (assuming that no new fires break out).  The media has reported that our air quality has been worse than that experienced in China, and vulnerable people have been warned to stay indoors.

Since the fires started on the Eastern Coast of Australia 2.7 million hectares of bush have burned!!!!  The damage is incalculable.  And this is the start of our bushfire season, and my city is experiencing a tiny part of it.  Other places have it much worse.

And, at the moment some of New South Wales and Western Australia is being hit.  Hard.  In the week to come record breaking high temperatures are predicted across the country.

Scary, scary times.