Watch incredible moment Australian town is turned orange by dust storm

This is the moment that a dust storm in an Australian town transformed the sky into a hellish shade of red.

The dust storm swept through Charleville in south-west Queensland on Tuesday, and caused minor damage as it knocked down a number of trees.

But all eyes were on the sky after the dust storm allowed strong winds to pick up and spread dirt that had been lingering in the region.

Harry Clark, from Australia’s Bureau of Meteorology, told the BBC: ‘We do see a fair few dust events through the western parts of Queensland because it is such a dry and hot place, but it’s definitely one of the more impressive events of the last few years.’

He estimates that the dust storm was about 200km (124 miles) wide. It also recorded winds of up to 96km/h (60pmh), and visibility at the local airport was reduced to about 200m.

One local resident, Page Donald, said: ‘We heard thunder, so we went outside… and we turned around and there was this big red dust storm coming along.

‘Our eyes are covered in dust.’

Posting on Facebook, another said: ‘I didn’t close the bedroom window before I went to work this morning! Nothing that the washing machine won’t fix.’

Police say that the storm lasted several hours before eventually dying down.