Organisers optimistic tournament will go aheadPeople’s health is a priority, says Craig TileyLess than a fortnight before the start of the
Australian Open, Melbourne lies under a thickening blanket of bushfire haze, and air quality has been downgraded to “very poor” and “hazardous”, which constitutes a serious health threat. There is a chance the tournament will be delayed, although conditions are expected to ease before the start on 20 January.
![Bushfire haze in Melbourne casts doubt on Australian Open starting on time](https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/06350602e3f85209d421b7ef87814f3f5c3abfc6/0_379_5807_3485/master/5807.jpg?width=1200&height=630&quality=85&auto=format&fit=crop&overlay-align=bottom%2Cleft&overlay-width=100p&overlay-base64=L2ltZy9zdGF0aWMvb3ZlcmxheXMvdGctZGVmYXVsdC5wbmc&enable=upscale&s=b0f5b3936acd0b3c5c2adc838050de7e)
Smoke drifting across from Tasmania has mixed with continued pollution from fires in rural Victoria, and the air quality index that put Canberra on 568 on Friday – way in front of known pollution black spots in Asia – broke through the 200 barrier in Melbourne on Monday evening, which places the Victorian capital in fourth place behind Delhi and Lahore, and in front of Shenyang.