Sydney

.People with asthma and other lung conditions are being told to stay indoors today, as dust blankets most of New South Wales.
The ambulance service has received about 217 calls from people having breathing difficulties since the storms began.
Forty calls were made from Sydney, while the rest were from the state’s west, south and north.
“They’re classed as dangerous at levels above 200,” he said.
ABC weather forecaster Graham Creed says particles in the air have reached dangerous levels.
“But Sydney is not the worst, Bathurst at the moment is 2,665.
“In Sydney’s east they’re recording about 256, in the north west 919 and in the south west 1,719.”
Dr Wayne Smith from New South Wales Health says some people are more susceptible.
The CEO of the Asthma Foundation, Greg Smith, says dust, winds and pollens have combined to create a “perfect storm” for asthmatics.
“The sensitive groups are really children, older adults and pregnant women and people who have asthma or heart disease or lung disease,” he said.
“You need to make absolutely certain you’ve got your windows closed, [that] you’re trying to reduce the amount of exposure you have to the dust,’ he said.
But he says sufferers can minimise the effects.”
About 10 per cent of the New South Wales population is affected by asthma. .

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