We just got back from a 6 week holiday up the centre of Australia from Canberra to Darwin and back via Adelaide. From Mataranka north there was almost constant smoke in the air from burning off. There is regular burn offs along both sides of all the roads as well as through all the National Parks depending on how often they are burnt. We saw fires in both Litchfield and Kakadu National Parks as well as on the road to Katherine Gorge. If you have asthma you should be prepared. We could smell smoke across the whole of the north part of the Territory and it got into the air conditioning system.
Yep thats pretty normal for this time of year in the NT, not good for people with chest/lung issues
Good to warn people so they can prepare if going that way
Ian
They used to burn the bush up there around every 3 years in days gone by but now they burn it every year.
I read somewhere that its something to do with an indigenous agreement, carbon credits & Qantas Airlines.
Burning it so often has reduced the biodiversity enormously, many species have disappeared completely.
The last three times that we've been up that way, everything is either charcoal or on fire.
Its gone from a patchwork of seasonal environmental burns to nuke the lot.