The Southern Highlands could be blanketed in a red haze beginning today as a dust storm from Western NSW makes its way across the state.
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A thick line of dust stretching almost the entire length of NSW is headed towards Sydney.
Strong winds from a low pressure system has whipped up masses of dirt across the drought-stricken state, which is steadily heading to the coast.
Large areas near Broken Hill, White Cliffs and Menindee were swallowed up by the huge dust cloud on Wednesday afternoon.
Air quality could be poor for Thursday and potentially extend into Friday. Infants, the elderly and those with respiratory issues have been urged to take precautions.
Despite some rain across parts of the Southern Highlands on Thursday morning, the Bureau of Meteorology forecast strong winds across the region over the next two days.
"It's a huge system," Bureau of Meteorology duty forecaster Anita Pyne said.
"We're expecting the dust to gradually increase over the next few hours, with the main band of dust to hit Sydney through the middle of the day or early afternoon. So the worst visibility is yet to occur."
It was not uncommon for inland parts of NSW to experience small-scale dust storms, but one this size was "unusual".
"It's unusual for dust events to happen on the coast because we're so much further away from that dust over the western NSW basin and we've got the Great Dividing Range in the way," she said.
It's expected the dust will keep sweeping east and may not clear the coast until Friday.
Meanwhile, NSW Health has issued a warning to those with a respiratory or cardiovascular condition to limit the amount of time spent outdoors and avoid vigorous exercise.
The warning also stated that dust particles vary in size from coarse (non-inhalable), to fine (inhalable), to very fine (respirable).
“Coarse dust particles generally only reach as far as the inside of the nose, mouth or throat,” the warning stated.
“Smaller or fine particles, however, can get much deeper into the sensitive regions of the respiratory tract and lungs.
“These smaller dust particles have a greater potential to cause serious harm to your health.”
The NSW Health statement said commonly, particles in dust storms tend to be coarse or non-respirable and do not pose a serious health threat to the general public.
“However, some people with pre-existing breathing-related problems, such as asthma and emphysema, may experience difficulties,” it said.
With Nadine Morton and AAP
