Dense fog blankets Broome in Australia ahead of the rainy season — ABC News Australia
The town of Broome in northern Western Australia was blanketed by dense fog this week: visibility at Broome Airport dropped below 50 metres on Wednesday and remained so for nine hours. As ABC News Australia reports, the fog covered an area from Broome to the Dampier Peninsula.
Transition to the wet season
Senior meteorologist at the Australian Bureau of Meteorology Jonathan Howe explained that fog forms due to the moisture content in the air and falling nighttime temperatures. Under the bureau’s criteria, fog is recorded when visibility falls below 300 metres; at higher levels, it is considered mist.
According to the meteorologist, such mornings are typical for this time of year and indicate the end of the tropical dry season. Humidity is gradually increasing in Broome, and fog may appear more frequently in forecasts in the coming days and weeks. Howe also advised drivers to consider road safety and adjust their speed to weather conditions.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
The Wirlburu season
For the traditional custodians of the land, the Yawuru people, the current period is called Wirlburu. It is a short transitional season that can last one or two weeks and is associated with the arrival of sea breezes, warmer weather and the return of foggy mornings.
Koko Yu, a specialist at the Mabu Yawuru Ngan-ga Language Centre, noted that the two main Yawuru seasons are the wet season, Man-gala, and the cold season, Barrgana, with shorter transitional periods between them, often associated with winds. Broome residents described the foggy morning as unusual: at Cable Beach, visibility in some places fell to around 30 metres, while yacht masts emerged through the fog in the sunlight.
