Sulphur smell alarms Johannesburg residents as heavy odour blankets the city

Residents in Johannesburg are on high alert this week as a foul sulphur odour blankets the city, causing widespread alarm. A powerful sulphur smell spread across large parts of Johannesburg this week, leaving residents alarmed as a heavy rotten egg odour lingered in the air and complaints poured in from across the city. From northern suburbs to parts of the inner city, people reported waking up to a sharp and unpleasant smell that seemed to hang stubbornly over the skyline.

Many described headaches, fatigue, tight chests and breathing discomfort as the stench drifted through neighbourhoods. City officials say the odour is most likely linked to pollution travelling into Gauteng from outside the province. MMC for Environment and Infrastructure Services Department Councillor Michael Sun said the city moved quickly after residents began reporting the smell.

“Upon instructing the city’s Air Quality Management Unit to urgently investigate the origin of the stench they established that the smell was widespread across the city which thankfully excludes the possibility of a localised source within Johannesburg,” Sun said. The discovery immediately shifted attention beyond the city’s borders. “At this stage I urge the people of Johannesburg not to panic,” Sun said.

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“It was concluded by EISD investigators that the city is potentially dealing with a cross boundary pollution source. They believe this is likely a short lived event based on the current weather conditions and that the quality of air in Johannesburg remains at acceptable levels.” Monitoring stations across the metro soon confirmed that certain gases associated with industrial pollution had increased in the atmosphere. Stations in Buccleuch and Alexandra recorded elevated levels of hydrogen sulphide and sulphur dioxide on Wednesday morning.

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