Eerie dust storm barrels through inland New South Wales

A dust storm has swept across regional New South Wales, with social media users posting a flurry of videos and towns described as “life on Mars.”

The dust swallowed whole towns this afternoon as it barrelled through centres including Dubbo, Tullamore, Nyngan and Hermidale.

It was another scorching, humid day for much of the state with Dubbo reaching a top of 39 degrees.

Instagram users tagged their dust pictures with hashtags including “hothothot,” and “cleanupcoming.”

Others used the photos as a way of showing their followers and friends what “country life” was really like.