The tragic reason the North Island will see a beautiful sunset tonight

Name: Dramatic footage from inside firetruck as crews escape bushfire in North Sydney
Uploaded: 2010-11-13T12:11:00+13:00
Duration: 64 s
Description: Dramatic footage from inside firetruck as crews escape bushfire in North Sydney. Video / Davidson Rural Fire Brigade

NZ Herald

13 Nov, 2019 02:12 AM2 mins to read

Dramatic footage from inside firetruck as crews escape bushfire in North Sydney. Video / Davidson Rural Fire Brigade

Vibrant, colourful and picturesque sunsets are usually something to marvel at - but tonight the North Island will experience a stunning sunset for a very sombre reason.

A plume of smoke from the Australian bushfires is drifting towards New Zealand and is expected to reach western areas of the North Island tonight.

Northland, Auckland, Waikato and Taranaki can expect to see an enhanced array of colours in our skies as the smoke sits on the horizon.

Niwa forecaster Ben Noll said this effect was the result of sunlight hitting particles in the atmosphere, creating something called scattering.

MetService says some regions can also expect Thursday sunrises to be impacted.

The North Island can expect some pretty sunsets. Photo / Getty Images

"Smoke from the Australian fires is currently moving over the Tasman Sea. MetService expects this to have an impact on sunset tonight (Wednesday) and possibly sunrise tomorrow.

"With smoke particles in the air, there could be some interesting-looking skies over the next few days."

Noll said the plume would be at its dustiest – when particulates in the air peaks – at around midnight Wednesday, when people were asleep.

"Given how fast the airflow blows this stuff through, we expect it to track across over a period of six to 12 hours."

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Posted by MetService New Zealand on Tuesday, 12 November 2019

Gisborne and eastern regions can expect to see the best sunrise with the smoke expected to drift across the east of the North Island before heading offshore.

Kiwis worried about the smoke are being told the country should remain relatively dust-free as winds will carry the plume offshore during the night.

The South Island is not expected to catch a glimpse of the sunset with rain forecast this evening for southern regions.