In Sydney, Australia, controlled fires conducted in preparation for the upcoming forest fire season have severely impacted the city’s air quality, leading to the world’s worst recorded air pollution levels. The dense smoke from these controlled burns forced authorities to temporarily halt the operations due to extreme pollution levels, with plans to resume once the air clears. It’s worth noting that only 14 percent of planned controlled fires in the state of New South Wales have been completed thus far. This is all happening as Australia braces for another potentially devastating forest fire season, following the catastrophic “Black Summer” of 2019-2020, during which 33 people lost their lives, and 19 million hectares of land were engulfed by flames.