Dirty rain falls in Sydney and Melbourne, turning everything brown

Car owners in Sydney and Melbourne are sharing pictures of their filthy vehicles, as dust storms cause brown rain to fall.

Brown rain falls on Sydney and Melbourne. Source: @Taraustralis on Twitter / AAP

Sydney and Melbourne residents are sharing photos of dirty cars, houses and swimming pools this week, after both cities were hit with downpours of brown rain.

The dirty rain is a result of a large dust storm moving across South Australia, north-western Victoria and the central west of NSW.

The rain in Sydney overnight has turned cars and vehicles brown, with many turning to social media to share the damage.

Earlier in the week in Melbourne, brown rain caused delays at the Australian Open after courts required high-pressure cleaning.

Pools, gutters and the Yarra River also turned brown after the downpour.

Dust storms and the accompanying brown rain are just a few of the extreme weather events to arrive in eastern Australia this week.

Sydney, Melbourne and Canberra have also been hit with large hail, and extreme heat has intensified the bushfire threat, which forced the temporary closure of Canberra airport on Thursday.

All in all, then, filthy cars are the least of our worries right now.