Even last weekend, the people of Helsinki smelled a strange smell. It was then described as “egg-like and sulphurous”.
It is unclear what caused the stench, but much points to a bog area in Latvia.
Paavo Korpela at the Finnish Meteorological Institute tells Helsingin Sanomat that there are chemical processes in the bog. The compounds that formed may have simmered under the snow this winter and have now been released in larger quantities than is normal – and then spread with the wind to Finland.
There is considered to be no danger to the public.