Strong, hot and dry winds caused bushfires to flare up in central and southern NSW on Thursday afternoon.

A cold front passing over southeastern Australia on Thursday caused wind to strengthen over a number of firegrounds in central and southern NSW. 

By 3:00pm, wind gusts had reached 78km/h at Moss Vale, Goulburn Airport and Mount Boyce, and 76 km/h at Braidwood and High Range. In addition to these strong winds, temperatures reached the low to mid thirties and relative humidity dipped to single figures in some parts of eastern NSW on Thursday afternoon.

At 3:45pm, Emergency Warnings were in place for six fires in NSW, including the Currowan Fire near Kioloa and a number that were burning to the west and northwest of Sydney.

Image: Fires and smoke in central and southern NSW on Thursday afternoon.

Thursday's fires were also reducing visibility and air quality across large areas of eastern NSW.

Conditions will ease overnight as wind and temperatures drop, although conditions are likely to deteriorate again on Friday. The Rural Fire Service has issued total fire bans in 10 Fire Areas of NSW on Friday, with Severe Fire Danger Ratings likely in central and northeastern parts of the state.

Image: Fire Danger Ratings for Friday, December 6th. Source: NSW RFS