Mystery smell reported across regions of Russia and Finland

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A strong mysterious smell has been reported in the region around Finland’s capital Helsinki, the city’s rescue department said on Sunday, with reports of a smell also coming from parts of Russia.

The odour has been smelt in an area spanning at least 60 km (37 miles) along Finland’s southern coastline and resembles sulphur or burnt rubber was, the department said.

“In Helsinki and Uusimaa more widely, a strong smell in the air has been noticed from time to time. The rescue service and other authorities are currently investigating the matter.” it wrote in a post on X.

Adding: “According to the current information from the air quality measurements of the Finnish Meteorological Institute, the smell does not pose a health risk. The authorities will continue to investigate the matter in cooperation.”

Russian media outlet Fontanka reported on Sunday that residents in several areas of St Petersburg, the Russian city closest to Finland, had complained of an unpleasant odour, comparing it to that of gas, garbage or burnt rubber.

One resident was reporter as saying: “It reached Vasilyevsky Island. It smells like a mixture of garbage, burnt rubber and burning. I woke up from the smell at 7 am , closed all the windows,” wrote user Dasha Nukolova.

Another added: “Yes, at Primorskaya you can’t breathe either, there’s a terrible smell, like gas. I woke up with a headache and couldn’t breathe,” wrote user Masha Artamonova.

According to local authorities cited by Fontanka, monitoring stations had not recorded anything above the permitted levels of air pollution.

A Russia Environmental Management Committee also claimed that the nearest atmospheric air monitoring stations did not record excess pollution.