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That cool, crisp, morning sea air – quite lekker hey, Cape Town?
Meanwhile, up in Joburg, residents are once again complaining about a stench that has been likened to rotten eggs, with some going as far as to claim the smell has given them headaches.
According to Gauteng provincial air quality officer Jacob Legadima, who spoke with The Citizen, the smell of hydrogen sulphide gas that many are experiencing is due to air dispersion.
On Twitter, residents have spoken out:
It’s the smell around joburg for me
— #SuperFlava (@moflavadj) February 17, 2021
JHB smells like poo today
— Euphonik™♛ (@euphonik) February 17, 2021
Why does the air in Joburg smell like a banquet in a baked bean factory?
— Lockdown Lisa K (@femin9Returned) February 17, 2021
@tumisole since last week been checking my drain thought I had a blockage.
Last night when i looked out the window ,it was dusty/misty the smell was too much, i knew there was something wrong.
We going to get sick i tell u.
— Motanyane (@MathumetseMj) February 17, 2021
Why does it smell like drainage these days in Johannesburg?
— AYAPROW (@AYAPROW_BIGGFUN) February 17, 2021
Yes, why? More from Legadima:
“In the last three weeks we’ve been having more rain, and the weather is changing. One of the factors that influence air pollution is wind speed, direction, pressure and the temperature,” said Legadima…
According to Legadima, the province is experiencing what is called temperature inversion, where the cold air from the top of the atmosphere presses the warm air to ground level.
Once it presses the warm air to ground level, the gas from the chimneys does not go up, it goes straight and spreads on the ground level, hence people experience the smell.
Many have pointed to Mpumalanga power plants as the source of the smell, and Legadima did mention petroleum refineries as a potential culprit:
“It might come from chimneys where they burn hydrogen sulphide. We’ve been having more rain in the last three weeks so you might find that there are challenges from those refineries.”
Meanwhile, Gauteng Weather pulled no punches:
READ: Government doubled sulphur dioxide emissions level on 1 April 2020. That’s the gas responsible for ‘eggy’ stench Gauteng has been experiencing for the past week https://t.co/hOkuvN5pys
— Gauteng Weather (@tWeatherSA) February 17, 2021
If you’re hoping for an immediate resolution, Gautengers, you may be out of luck.
Legadima said you could be in the dwang for a few weeks yet:
“It’s going to go away, because it is already in the atmosphere. Two elements have bonded together – hydrogen and sulphur. Sulphur has high electronegativity compared to hydrogen, it cannot be broken easily – even by the UV [ultraviolet] rays from the sun.
“Over some time, I can’t say tomorrow or in three weeks’ time because the weather is changing – it’s just a matter of weather conditions, it will go away because the weather is changing.”
On the plus side, you don’t even have to bother blaming your gas on the dog now. Just point vaguely in an outside direction and say “those bloody refineries”.
The Midrand Reporter spoke with Department of Agriculture and Rural Development spokesperson Nozipho Hlabangana, who also warned that the smell could be here to stay:
“The smell would be gone for now but depending on the weather conditions. If another inversion and cyclone are experienced again, the smell might come again. It is the conditions of atmospheric science and chemistry,” Hlabangana concluded.
Ride it out, friends.
Remember when you guys all laughed at us during the height of Day Zero, and revelled in sharing luxurious bath pictures? Good times…
[sources:citizen&midrandreporter]
