Grey when it's sunny

I had to go into the city today for a work meeting and couldn't believe how polluted it was. I've been back at work now since January, but I haven't really been out a lot since I only go into the office two days a week. So, after nearly a year out in the burbs on maternity leave, it came as a shock how badly Sydney is polluted. J gets terrible allergies that flare up at work in town so I wonder if it can be to do with the air quality... One thing's for sure, it made me appreciate the distance I am from the action -- it pays to be at the beach where the air smells good and we aren't surrounded by a brown haze (unless there's bushfire hazard reduction, of course!) even if it is a good hours drive into town.
Apparently, the levels were low today, which surprised me.