You may recall one night I was woken in my tent by the smell of smoke; you can refer to the post with the details.  Apart from that night and the following day as I walked further inland with smoke in my nostrils and not knowing whether I was walking towards or from a fire (I was in an area where access to the internet and mobile telephone reception is non-existent), one of the great delights has been the clean air. Being able to breathe deeply and feel clean on the inside has been a bonus.

From time to time thousands of hectares/acres of our land suffer from unplanned Bush Fires (called Wild Fires in the USA) the source of which may be lightning strikes on dry forests.

In addition various government agencies organise planned burns to reduce the amount of dry vegetation (‘fuel reduction’ being the current term), with the view of preventing major out-of-control Bush Fires when the temperatures increase and the wind blows strongly.  The media always alerts the public so those with respiratory problems can plan to stay indoors or take other precautions.

So at different times, Tasmania no longer has pristine air.  I was amazed when I read this article and found that the air in the Derwent Valley was compared with the extremely unfavourable air quality of industrial India and China.  Back then, the air in that particular locality could be labelled as severe pollution.   Thankfully, the circumstances have reverted to normal … until the next burn.