Fog or smoke? Melbourne wakes to gloomy haze

Melburnians have woken to a hazy morning today — but is it smoke or unseasonable fog?

Bureau of Meterology Senior Forecaster, Richard Carlyon, said the answer isn’t straightforward.

“We’ve got a mix of fog and low cloud as well as the smoke and haze,” he told 3AW’s Neil Mitchell.

Mr Carlyon said the smoke is back.

“It’s no surprise really, given the winds we’ve had over the last 48 hours, easterly winds have been blowing the smoke in from the Gippsland fires.

“We can see it on our satellite imagery as well, that smoke spreading westward across the state.”

But unseasonable fog is also blanketing the city today.

Mr Carlyon said fog is “reasonably unusual” in February, and it won’t hang around all day.

“I think the fog and low cloud will slowly lift this morning, particularity around the city,” he said.

3AW Mornings producer Genevieve Rule tested out the air quality in the CBD just before 9am.

She recorded a reading of 58 PM2.5, which is at the upper end of a ‘moderate’ rating according to the EPA.

For the air quality to be classified as ‘poor’ by the EPA the reading must be between 52 and 97 PM2.5.

Press PLAY below for more.