SINGAPORE – A burning smell in north-east Singapore is likely related to a fire at the Tanjong Langsat landfill in Pasir Gudang, Johor, according to the National Environment Agency (NEA).

The agency told The Straits Times on Sunday (Feb 17) that it had received nine feedback cases on the smell between Friday evening and 11pm on Saturday. Eight of them were received after 6pm on Saturday.

Several netizens living in Yishun, Ang Mo Kio, Sengkang, and Hougang also reported a “smoky” or “smoggy” smell on social media.

Reddit user blahhh87 said he “thought of doing some late night cycling but decided not to”.

“It smells really bad,” wrote Facebook user Benny Ong.

The feedback cases come just over a week after reports of a burning smell over several parts of eastern Singapore, including Tampines, Bedok and Pasir Ris, on Feb 8.

The source of that smell was due to a fire at a landfill in Bandar Tenggara, in south-eastern Johor, NEA said at the time.

On Sunday, NEA said the Department of Environment Johor has updated the agency that while the fire at Bandar Tenggara landfill had been put out, there is another fire at the Tanjong Langsat landfill in Pasir Gudang.

“It is likely that the burning smell detected in the north-east of Singapore is related to this fire,” said an NEA spokesman, who confirmed that the agency had not been able to trace the smell to any local causes so far.

The spokesman added that the prevailing winds, which have been blowing from the north-east, are expected to persist for the next few days.

At 11pm on Saturday, the PSI at the North, East and Central regions ranged from 42 to 48, in the “good” range.

The one-hour PM2.5 readings in those regions ranged between 6 and 12 micrograms per cu m (mcg/m3), which is in the “normal” range. PM2.5 is the dominant pollutant during haze episodes.

NEA also said that the levels of ambient volatile organic compounds continue to remain within safety limits.

In contrast, during the last episode on Feb 8, the one-hour PM2.5 readings rose at one point to the “elevated” range of 46 to 62 mcg/m3. The PSI also hit 65 at a separate time that day.

NEA said it will continue to monitor the air quality and provide updates should there be any change in the situation.

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