Red dust cloaks Sydney's Harbour Bridge on Sept. 23. The dust was being blown in by strong winds from dry farmland in western and southern parts of New South Wales and eastern South Australia. The storms — visible as a huge brown smudge in satellite photographs of the country — were the most severe since the 1940s, experts said.
— Matt Blyth / Getty Images AsiaPac
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A dust storm blankets Sydney's iconic Opera House at sunrise on Sept. 23.
— Tim Wimborne / X01371
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A runner passes a dog tied to a bench during a dust storm at Bondi Beach in Sydney.
— Paul Miller / AAP
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A man prepares to leave a ferry wharf in Balmain, Sydney, after learning that services had been cancelled due to the dust blanketing the city.
— Dan Peled / AAP
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Sydney's Bradfield Freeway is seen on Sept. 23.
— Brendon Thorne / Getty Images AsiaPac
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Beachgoers walk through the haze on Bondi Beach in Sydney.
— Tracey Nearmy / AAP
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Cars wait at traffic lights in Sydney on Sept. 23. Flights were diverted and ferries canceled as the red dust shrouded most of Australia's largest city.
— Rob Griffith / AP
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Jeffrey's Street Wharf is seen in Sydney.
— Cameron Spencer / Getty Images AsiaPac
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Sydney ferries are seen docked at Circular Quay on Sept. 23.
— Brendon Thorne / Getty Images AsiaPac
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A surfer heads for the water as a dust storm blankets Bondi Beach.
— Tracey Nearmy / AAP
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Six-year-old Ariella, top, and her three-year-old sister Romy enjoy an early morning swing in Sydney on Sept. 23.
— Dan Peled / AAP
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Seagulls take flight in the high winds as the storm blankets Bondi Beach.