Brisbane CBD blanketed in thick fog as driving conditions poor

The dense fog which blanketed much of Brisbane and surrounding areas this morning has cleared, but the cold front which generated it is expected to create more storms.

The heavy mist caused a number of major traffic crashes this morning, with motorists urged to take care on the roads.

Upper Coomera saw one man hospitalised with neck and back pain and seven people treated at the scene of a multi-car crash on the M1 motorway.

The crash resulted in heavy traffic in the area with poor visibility causing headaches for those trying to make their way into work.

Fog was thickest to the west of Brisbane according to Weatherzone, with inland areas of northeast NSW also seeing heavy mists. Westerly winds managed to carry some of the fog towards the coast.

The Bureau of Meteorology says the thick fog is because of moisture at ground level which is being compressed from above by a mass of dry air creating cloud at ground level.

While the fog from this morning has lifted, the moisture that helped caused it is likely to fuel showers and some thunderstorms in southeast Queensland and northeast NSW this afternoon and evening, according to meteorologists.

The atmosphere is likely to become even more unstable tomorrow, with thunderstorms expected and severe storms possible.

Sydney air quality still poor as hazard reduction burns continue

Large parts of Sydney are continuing to see poor air quality as controlled burns continue at several sites.

Sydney’s air quality has received a “poor or worse” category from Environment NSW for another day with pollution levels still high from the hazard reduction burns.

Yesterday, the smoke in Sydney was so severe it could be seen from space with satellites capturing the haze from thousands of kilometres above the Earth.

The thick Sydney haze was due to smoke particles from recent hazard reduction burns mixing with developing fog.

NSW Health has warned people with asthma and breathing difficulties to take precautions to protect themselves from the poor quality air, avoid going outside if possible and seek medical advice if they become unwell.