Wind and Dust

Today in Melbourne has been extraordinary weather. Through the night I was woken by the humidity, heat, and wind. A blustering squalled northerly (which in Melbourne means a hot wind). As I worked from home this morning I watched my windows shiver and bow with the wind, and rang for a glazier for my upstairs neighbours when their window was blown out. After work, still the wind, and now dust. The sky and entire city is cloaked in an orange shroud that a month ago was smoke and today is dust. We are in the midst of a major drought and this dust probably comes from New South Wales and has been blown hundreds of kilometres. It is gritty and eerie since because we are not a desert city. To the east there is 400 kilometres of green, to the north probably 160 kilometres, and to the west 300 kilometres.