Melbourne's air quality 'worst in the world', authorities issue health warnings
Melbourne: The air quality in Melbourne deteriorated to the "worst in the world" on Tuesday as smoke from the massive bushfires engulfed Australia's second biggest city with authorities issuing health warnings advising people to stay indoors and take precautionary measures.
The raging Australian bushfires, one of the worst in its history, has killed at least 26 people, burned over 10 million hectares of land, destroyed over 2,000 homes and pushed many species towards extinction.
Meanwhile, the Bureau of Meteorology has forecast rains through the week, bringing some relief to the bushfire affected communities and the firefighters.
According to report in the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), widespread rainfall is expected for the east coast of the country, including the firegrounds, starting Tuesday and lasting into the weekend.
Melbourne's air quality went down overnight to "hazardous" due to bushfire smoke as the smoke from Victoria state engulfed it. 16 fires were still burning and 1.4 million hectares have been destroyed across Victoria.
It is the second biggest city in Australia after Sydney with a population of over 4.2 million. "I think overnight for Melbourne it did reach the worst in the world," Victoria's chief health officer Brett Sutton said. Sutton said warmer temperatures would help lift "particulate matter" that had resulted in the poor air quality.
He warned that people might experience a worsening cough and a dry nose and throat.
"For those vulnerable groups - over 65s, under 15s, pregnant women and people with existing lung/heart disease or diabetes - we are saying avoid exposure to the smoke by staying indoors and limiting physical activity," he said.
While heart and respiratory patients were being told to keep safe, the healthy were being warned to stay inside.
The ABC report said several outdoor suburban swimming pools were shut down and horse races at Werribee suburb were also cancelled. Australian Open organisers also temporarily suspended qualifying matches and player practice sessions for Tuesday morning.
According to the Environmental Protection Authority's AirWatch website, the air quality in Melbourne was "very poor'' and visibility down to 900 metres in some parts of inner Melbourne on Tuesday.
The entire state was choking under a blanket of bushfire smoke, including Geelong town, the Latrobe Valley, Central Victoria, Gippsland and the North Central regions, considered to have "hazardous" air quality at 7 am (local time).
In Melbourne's Central Business District (CBD), the smoke was measured at "hazardous" levels between 12 am and 4 am (local time).
Sutton said people in East Gippsland and the state's north-east, where poor to hazardous air quality is likely to remain for some time, should try to let fresh air into their homes when possible.
"When conditions are good that's the time to open doors and windows to air your house, to get the smoke out and then when the air quality's poor, close doors and windows, stay inside, minimise your activity," he said.
The bushfires this summer season has destroyed over 10 million hectares of land across the country, while over 8.4 million hectares have been destroyed in North South Wales alone.
With 30 per cent of their habitat already been destroyed in the devastating bushfires, Koalas -- the herbivorous marsupial animal native to Australia -- have become a big focus for the Australian government.
The ongoing blaze is also believed to have killed approximately half of the Koala population in the Kangaroo Island, described as Australia's Galapagos Islands.
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Strict security measures in place in Mumbai for Messi's events at 2 venues Dec 14, say police
Mumbai (PTI): In view of Argentine superstar footballer Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai on Sunday, the city police are implementing stringent security measures, like not allowing water bottles, metals, coins inside the stadiums and setting up watchtowers to keep an eye on the crowd, officials said.
The police also said taking extra care to avoid any stampede-like situation and to prevent recurrence of the chaotic situation that unfolded in Kolkata during Messi's visit on Saturday as thousands of fans protested inside the Salt Lake stadium here after failing to catch a clear glimpse of the football icon despite paying hefty sums for tickets.
Messi is expected to be present at the Cricket Club of India (Brabourne Stadium) in Mumbai on Sunday for a Padel GOAT Cup event followed by attending a celebrity football match. He is expected to proceed to the Wankhede Stadium for the GOAT India Tour main event around 5 pm.
"In view of Lionel Messi's visit to Mumbai, the police are geared up and have put in place a high level of security arrangements in and around the stadiums located in south Mumbai. Considering the chaos that prevailed in Kolkata and the security breach, we have deployed World Cup-level security arrangements at Brabourne and Wankhede stadiums," an official said.
Expecting heavy crowd near the stadiums during Messi's visit, the city police force has deployed more than 2,000 of its personnel near and around both the venues, he said.
As the Mumbai police have the experience of security 'bandobast' during the victory parade of ICC World Cup-winning Indian team and World Cup final match at the Wankhede Stadium, in which over one lakh cricket fans had gathered, we are prepared to handle a large crowd of fans, he said.
"We are trying to avoid the errors that occurred in the past," the official said.
There is no place to sneak inside the stadiums in Mumbai like the Kolkata stadium, according to him.
The police are also asking the organisers to provide all the required facilities to the fans inside the stadium, so that there will be no chaos, he said, adding the spectators have purchased tickets in the range of Rs 5,000 to 25,000. After paying so much of amount, any spectator expects proper services, while enjoying the event, he said.
The police are expecting 33,000 spectators at the Wankhede Stadium and over 4,000 at Brabourne Stadium. Besides this, more than 30,000 people are expected outside and around the stadiums just to have a glimpse of the football sensation, he said.
The organisers responsible for Messi's India visit recently came to Mumbai to discuss security arrangements. During the meeting, the Mumbai police asked them not to take the event lightly, according to the official.
After those requirements were fulfilled, the final security deployment was chalked out, he said.
Police has the standard procedure of the security arrangements inside the Wankhede Stadium, where people are barred from taking water bottles, metals objects, coins. Police are setting up watch towers near the stadiums and there will be traffic diversions, so that there is maximum space available to stand, according to the official.
Police are also appealing to the spectators to use public transport service for commuting and avoid personal vehicles to reach south Mumbai.
To avoid any stampede-like situation, police are also taking precautionary measures and will stop the fans some distance ahead of the stadium and public announcement systems will be used to guide the crowd. Barricades will be placed at various places to manage the crowd.
In case the crowd swells up beyond expectation, the police will divert people to other grounds and preparations in this regard underway, he said.
Additional police force has been deployed in south Mumbai to tackle any kind of situation, he said.
