Hazardous bushfire smoke envelops Sydney

Reuters: The iconic Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge were engulfed by hazardous bushfire smoke on Tuesday (December 3). Bushfires have ravaged around 2.5 million acres (1 million hectares) of farmland and bush across Australia's east coast in recent weeks, destroying more than 500 homes. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported that data from the New South Wales Department of Environment showed how Sydney's air quality is currently three times worse than at any time in the previous five years. The New South Wales Rural Fire Service said on Tuesday that there were still over 100 bush and grass fires burning across the New South Wales state, with a blaze burning in the Blue Mountains causing the smoke haze across Australia's largest city. The bushfires have acted as a backdrop as the United Nations began the latest climate summit in Madrid on Monday (December 2).