Seemorerocks: Red skies in Auckland from Australian bushfires

Sunday 5 January 2020

Red skies in Auckland from Australian bushfires

Photos: Auckland abruptly

turns orange as smoky haze

drifts across from Australian

bushfires

5 January, 2019

Auckland city has suddenly gained an orange hue this afternoon, as smoke blown from Australia's bushfires clouds over the city.

The strange colouring has gained a lot of sudden attention online, after the lighting abruptly shifted at around 2pm today.

Satellite view of smoke cloud from Australian bushfires impacting New Zealand. January 5, 2020. Source: Australian Government

The smoke will likely thicken over the upper North Island for the rest of the day, before clearing on Monday.

This afternoon, Minister of Defence Ron Mark announced New Zealand will send three helicopters and crew, as well as two NZ Army Combat Engineer Sections and a command element to help support the Australian defence force as they battle the fires.

'The rising sun was just a pale disc behind the layers of smoke over the Southern Ocean - and then, for just a few magic seconds, as it moved up through successively dense layers, it formed the Aboriginal flag.'

She said she recognised right away the power of the image and immediately went home to share it.

'So I went home and put it up on Facebook, hoping that those moments would speak to other people as they spoke to me, and the rest is history,' she said.