SINGAPORE: A burning smell detected in the northeast of Singapore over the last two days was likely related to a fire at a landfill in Johor, the National Environment Agency (NEA) said on Saturday. This is the second such incident in two weeks.
In response to queries from Channel NewsAsia, NEA said it received nine feedback cases between the evening of Feb 15 and 11pm on Feb 16 regarding the burning smell.
“Eight of the nine feedback cases were received after 6pm on Feb 16. During the last smell episode on Feb 8, NEA had received 31 feedback cases,” the agency said.
On Feb 8 and 9, a fire at the Bandar Tenggara landfill in Johor also resulted in a smoky smell in the eastern parts of Singapore.
NEA added that the Singapore Civil Defence Force (SCDF) confirmed that there was no major fire incident in the northeast of Singapore.
READ: Smoky smell in Singapore’s east caused by Johor landfill fire, says NEA
The Tanjong Langsat landfill in Pasir Gudang lies northeast of Punggol. According to NEA, winds have been blowing from the northeast. (Image: Google Maps)
It said that the Department of Environment (DOE) Johor provided an update that while the fire at Bandar Tenggara in southeast Johor had been put out, there was another fire at the Tanjong Langsat landfill in Pasir Gudang.
“The prevailing winds have been blowing from the northeast, and this is expected to persist for the next few days. It is likely that the burning smell detected in the northeast of Singapore is related to this fire,” NEA said.
NEA said that as of 11pm on Saturday, the Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) at the North, East and Central regions ranged from 42 to 48, in the “Good” range, while the 1-hr PM2.5 readings in those regions ranged between 6 to 12µg/m3 (Band I), which is in the “Normal” range.
“The ambient volatile organic compounds levels also continue to remain within safety limits. NEA will continue to monitor the air quality, and will provide updates should there be any change in the situation,” it added.
On Saturday, a Channel NewsAsia reader reported experiencing a burning smell in Punggol.
The reader, who only wanted to be identified as Mr Foo, said he also saw smoke coming from a source that lay northeast of Punggol.
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