Climate Emergency Rally Takes Place in Sydney, Australia Amidst Extreme Bushfire

A day after Sydney was blanketed by a cloud of thick smoke and air quality reached 11 times higher than hazardous levels, around 20,000 protesters stormed the city streets to demand urgent action. The haze that enveloped the city was enough to sound off fire alarms in buildings.

But the government said climate change is not the reason for the bushfires and smoke enveloping the city. Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack said that most of the fires have been started by arsonists.

The Australia Bushfire season this year is reported to be one of the worst the country has ever experienced and has been going on for weeks now. It has taken the lives of 6 people and destroyed over 700 houses. Firefighters have been battling a deadly mixture of high temperatures and heavy winds.

Sydney’s director of environmental health, Dr. Richard Broome, said this smoky period is “unprecedented,” which poses health risks.

Stores are Running Out of Air Purifiers

As the Australian government advised its people to stay indoors and keep their windows and doors shut, the demand for air purifiers also increased. Stores are running out of air purifiers.

Good Guys in Sydney said they only have a few purifiers left, noting that they “are almost completely sold out across the range from every manufacturer.” Suppliers can’t guarantee new stocks until 2020.

The recommended air purifiers for wildfire smoke are the ones with a pre-filter, true-HEPA filter, and activated carbon filter. These capture smoke particles and remove smoke odors. The filters need to be replaced every 6 months to ensure they’re filtering air effectively.

You also need to take note of the size of the area that the device can purify. Dr. Christine Cowie of Centre for Air Pollution, Energy and Health Research and the Woolcock Institute of Medical Research, tells Guardian Australia that “One small air purifier will not do a whole house.”