‘Singapore smelling very smoky’ — Singaporeans complain about ‘burning smell’ in their area

SINGAPORE: In two separate Reddit threads on Sunday evening (Feb 2), a number of Singaporeans said they were smelling a “burning smell” in their areas. However, on the site of the National Environment Agency (NEA), which monitors the quality of air in Singapore, no alarms have been raised.

“Singapore smelling very smoky today?” asked one of the Reddit users on r/askSingapore, though they wondered if they were the only one who thought it smelt “pretty smoky” on Sunday.

They first noticed the smoky smell while walking around the City Hall area. However, when they got home to Bedok, they noticed the smell was getting “so much stronger.” Nevertheless, the post author added that they saw no haze, a problem that has at times beset Singapore on the horizon.

At around the same time, in another r/askSingapore post, they wrote that they smelled “burned plastic” on Sunday evening, which reminded them of haze.

“Any idea what’s going on?” the post author asked.

Both posts have gotten quite a number of comments, with many Reddit users replying that they also smelled smoke on Feb 2. When one wrote that they smelled it at Tampines East, another agreed, saying they’d had the same experience at Ikea that day.

A Reddit user from Bedok said the same, as did others from Eunos, Simei, and near the National University of Singapore. The smell apparently continued into the night, with commenters on both posts saying they still smelled smoke by 11:00 on Sunday evening.

A commenter who said they live at Pasir Ris said they first thought they were merely smelling burning joss sticks or papers but also noted that the particular smell seemed to be more like plastic or even “chemical burning.” They added that they also noticed their eczema flaring up at the same time. Commenters from the east also said they smelled smoke, with one saying they smelled it the whole day.

A Reddit user from Pasir Ris said they had already shut all their windows, and another chimed in to say it might be a good time to switch on one’s air purifiers.

One commenter wrote that at 7:00 am on Monday (Feb 3), the smell was still strong at Loyang. As of 8:00 pm on Monday, NEA’s website shows that the air quality is normal all over Singapore. /TISG

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