Smoke and air pollution from the dozens of bushfires still burning across New South Wales, have continued to hit record highs in Sydney, with alarmingly low air quality.

On Tuesday, Sydney recorded its worst day yet, with the city enveloped by thick smoke from the late morning. Visibility in some areas reportedly dropped to less than a kilometre, with all ferry services cancelled.

“I have never seen Sydney like this before. It’s like being inside a thick dense cloud without being able to see the horizon,” Professor Vrasidas Karalis told Neos Kosmos.

“I couldn’t see where I was walking as the dense smoke had covered the road and was totally still. There was an eerie feeling of confusion and disorientation,” he added, likening the experience to the first pages from Charles Dicken’s Bleak House, as “quite unnerving and upsetting”.

“I had to postpone two meetings because we had stopped for over an hour on a central street in Newtown.”

While the conditions improved by Wednesday, Prof Karalis says the atmosphere continues to be one of “unease and discomfort”.

Long-time resident, Billy Cotsis says the conditions are far worse than any of the bush fires he recalls from his childhood.

“Over the last few days, especially in the afternoon, the sun is covered by the smoke. There are days when I go to jump on my scooter and it’s covered in ash. Riding around the other day, the smoke made it hard to see and breathe, especially as the smoke had an impact on my eyes,” Mr Cotsis told Neos Kosmos. “I feel for the people out in the countryside and the wildlife.”

READ: A Greek and Cypriot Australian among the four killed in Australia’s fire nightmare

Eleni Eleftherias, who has been in a hospital in Sydney’s inner west the past two weeks, says patients have been confined to their rooms, and keeping windows closed has proven ineffective.

“I keep coughing even indoors at the hospital. The smoke gets in when people enter and leave,” said Ms Eleftherias. “One night it was so bad that the hospital alarm went off and I was the only patient on my floor who could get out of bed to see what was going on. It was a false alarm due to the heavy smoke outside. It’s terrible.”

Flight attendant Anastasia Grillas has had a similar experience at Sydney Airport, where the smoke makes its way through the vents, filling the terminal with a smoky haze.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. There’s no escape. I’ve never realised how much we take fresh air for granted; not being able to hang your clothes on the line or open your windows at home. It really does feel like we are suffocating,” Miss Grillas said.

“I take my hat off to all the fire fighters risking their lives to save people’s homes and livelihood. And to all the people coming together to support those that have lost their homes, thank you, it shows the true Aussie spirit.”

Voula Sourlango, 76, from San Souci tried taking her grandchild out for a walk and bite to eat, but said she “couldn’t cope” with the smoky conditions.

“We have to sit inside with the windows shut and we can’t even water the garden,” Ms Sourlango said, referring to the state’s newly introduced level two water restrictions.

With worsening drought predicted due a hot and dry summer, as of 10 December, residents are not permitted to hose their garden, with strict limits for drip irrigation and smart watering systems, and vehicles can only be washed with a bucket and sponge, the toughest restrictions the state has experienced in 10 years.

The smoke haze is expected to linger across Sydney until Saturday.