Mysterious burned rubber stench reported across regions of Finland, Russia: ‘Couldn’t breathe’

A mysterious smell resembling that of sulfur or burned rubber has been detected across Helsinki – as well as St. Petersburg, the Russian city closest to Finland’s capital.

The strong, unpleasant odor was reported Sunday in an area covering at least 37 miles along Finland’s southern coastline, Reuters reported, citing Helsinki’s rescue department.

“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,” the agency wrote on X.

“The rescue department and other authorities are looking into the matter,” it said, adding that there was no immediate indication that the smell posed a health hazard.

Russian news outlet Fontanka reported that residents in several areas of St Petersburg complained of the smell, which also was compared to that of garbage and gas.

Monitoring stations have not recorded anything above the permitted levels of air pollution, Fontanka said.

“It reached Vasilyevsky Island. It smells like a mixture of garbage, burnt rubber and burning. I woke up from the smell at 7 a.m., closed all the windows,” Russian user Dasha Nukolova wrote on X.

“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 another user, Masha Artamonova, the UK’s Independent reported.