Fog and smoke covered such a large area of Sydney and central NSW on Monday morning that it could be seen from space.

Smoke particles from recent hazard reduction burns helped thick fog develop across a large area of central and eastern NSW on Sunday night.

As the sun rose on Monday morning, satellite images revealed that the fog was widespread and pooling in valleys and other low-lying areas across the state.

Image: The Himawari-8 satellite captured this image on Monday morning, showing clouds offshore and widespread fog and smoke over land.

The Sydney Basin was one of the fog hot spots on Monday morning, with the thickest fog forming in the city's western suburbs before spreading towards the east.

This made for an eerie commute to work and school as a veil of thick fog drifted across transport networks on land and in the harbour.

Image: Disappearing tracks in Parramatta on Monday morning. Source: @carolinechan / Instagram

Visibility was reduced to less than 100 metres at Camden and Canterbury and around 100 metres at Bankstown, Holsworthy and Richmond.

The city skyline was temporarily cut in half, with only the taller buildings able to peek over the thick fog. The view would have been spectacular from Sydney Tower.

Image: Thick fog drifting through the Sydney CBD on Monday morning. Source: @tallymountain / Instagram

Monday was the latest in a series of smoky and fog-affected mornings in central eastern NSW. This has been thanks to a combination of favourable weather patterns and planned hazard reduction burns in recent weeks.

However, a showery change will sweep through central NSW on Tuesday and help clear some of the lingering smoke in and around Sydney. This will improve Sydney's air quality through the middle of the week, although showers should continue into Wednesday and possibly Thursday.

After a 24-day dry streak in Sydney, it's time to dust off the umbrella.

Fog and smoke mixing out over the Sydney Basin this morning. The atmosphere will become less stable during this week which should help with dispersion of the smoke. pic.twitter.com/qtN5NkDUPH

— Andrew Miskelly (@andrewmiskelly) May 3, 2021