The state government's Annual Air Quality statement shows air pollution across the Hunter continues to exceed national benchmarks for coarse and fine particle pollution.
According to the report, there were 51 days of exceptional weather events in 2018 which contributed to poor air quality, including dust storms, drought and bushfires.
That's compared to just 18 days during the previous year.
Environmental Justice Australia researcher Dr James Whelan, from the Hunter Community Environment Centre, said the government must make rapid changes to state-wide strategies to control increasing pollution.
"For 3 years now, the NSW government has been talking about the need for some kind of strategy to respond to air pollution," said Dr Whelan
"And they just don't seem to have moved in that direction," he said.
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| The Hunter has seen a number of major bushfires in recent years. Image courtesy RFS. |
