- Organisers optimistic tournament will go ahead
- People’s health is a priority, says Craig Tiley
Less than a fortnight before the start of the Australian Open, Melbourne lies under a thickening blanket of bushfire haze, and air quality has been downgraded to “very poor” and “hazardous”, which constitutes a serious health threat. There is a chance the tournament will be delayed, although conditions are expected to ease before the start on 20 January.
Smoke drifting across from Tasmania has mixed with continued pollution from fires in rural Victoria, and the air quality index that put Canberra on 568 on Friday – way in front of known pollution black spots in Asia – broke through the 200 barrier in Melbourne on Monday evening, which places the Victorian capital in fourth place behind Delhi and Lahore, and in front of Shenyang.
Written by Kevin Mitchell in Sydney
This news first appeared on https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/jan/06/bushfire-haze-in-melbourne-casts-doubt-on-australian-open-starting-on-time under the title “Bushfire haze in Melbourne casts doubt on Australian Open starting on time”. Bolchha Nepal is not responsible or affiliated towards the opinion expressed in this news article.
