Sydney residents have woken to a large smoke haze blanketing the city.
Air quality in New South Wales has continued to drop as the Rural Fire Service (RFS) is racing to complete burn-offs ahead of the weekend when temperatures are expected to rise to the low 30s.
"We've got a lot of burning to do, we didn't get a lot done last year because of the wet so this year, it's full steam ahead," RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
State residents have been urged to limit time outdoors, keep doors and windows closed, and stay in air-conditioned environments as volunteer firefighters continued to complete "hazard reduction" burns ahead of a high-risk bushfire season.
Asthmatics have also been warned to keep their preventer close.
The NSW Department of Health rated the city's air quality in the east as "very poor".
Large amounts of smoke were settling in the Sydney basin Tuesday morning.
Rogers said "particularly overnight, it gets an inversion layer and it traps that smoke".
The NSW Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also issued a health warning, urging vulnerable communities to take care.
“Children, older adults and people with heart and lung conditions are most susceptible to the effects of air pollution and excessive smoke,” an EPA spokesperson said.
The haze is expected to settle over greater Sydney and the Central Coast overnight.
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