orange alert, sydney!

i was awakened early this morning with a truly unusual sight of sydney. i looked out the window from the 42nd floor of the hotel (see picture) i was staying in the heart of the city; what i saw the entire city was blanketed with a glowing orange tint. initially, i weren't sure if it was the window tinting on the hotel building playing tricks on me, or that the sun's glow at dawn is overwhelming or that i am simply still sleepy.
as i continued to be awed by the sight, i realized it was dust when i switched on the tv and the local headline news explained the phenomenon. it was a surreal sight, and for a moment, i weren't sure if i should just stay in or if it's safe to go outside.
from then on, it wrecked havoc to what would have been another typical busy working wednesday in sydney. health alert went out to those with respiratory problems to stay indoor. those driving took extra precaution as visibility on the road plummeted. it didn't dawn on me that flight will also be impacted. i have a scheduled 2pm flight back to melbourne the same afternoon.
after my work in the morning, i decided to leave slightly earlier to the airport after a colleague wagered that i will not be able to make the flight. a chaotic scene greeted me at the airport. since i was early, i was able to check in an `earlier' flight even though it is delayed. information from the airport on flights schedule was few and far between. many flights were either delayed or cancelled. as only one runway was used at the domestic terminal for safety reason, flights that are scheduled to take-off have to endure a long queue. my flight finally got the green light to take off at about 4.45pm. as i was waiting at my gate to board the flight, i overheard the announcement that my flight that i was originally scheduled to fly out to melbourne was cancelled. i thanked my lucky stars that i was allocated a seat on an earlier flight.
the flight was bumpy through-out due to the strong winds but when dj842 landed in melbourne at 6.10pm today, i was a tired but happy man. i made it to melbourne by the skin of my teeth.

p.s. i read in reports later that the dust storm is the worst ever pollution that hit sydney. it was 1500 times the normal pollution level in sydney. the dust storm travelled 1500km to hit new south wales and covered almost 600km across the coast of the state. it dumped about 75000 tonnes of dust every hour! it dust storm eventually hit brisbane.