'Hazardous' air pollution halts Australian Open practiceHuge bushfires have been burning near Melbourne. MELBOURNE: Soaring pollution halted Australian Open practice and delayed qualifying on Tuesday as smoke from raging bushfires hit the build-up to the season's opening Grand Slam. Air quality in Melbourne, habitually ranked as one of the world's most liveable cities, was among the worst on the planet and described as "hazardous" by city authorities. "Practice was temporarily suspended this morning due to poor air quality," organisers said in a statement. Mandy Minella, the world number 140 from Luxembourg, said she was "shocked" that Australian Open qualifying was allowed to take place.

Source: Bangkok Post January 14, 2020 05:03 UTC