What's that smell? People are fed up with the mysterious stink in Surrey and Langley

What’s that smell? For the last few days, there’s been a lingering nauseating odour in the air in parts of Langley and Surrey, and it’s reeking of mystery.

People have taken to social media to complain about the smell, but despite their queries, the scent remains unexplained. But there have been a lot of guesses.

“[Fog] and the decomposition of leaves and decay,” one person on Facebook guessed.

“It’s the chicken farms. Avian flu has killed off most of the birds, and they are waiting for proper disposal,” another person offered as a possible explanation.

The website Smell Vancouver has seen a string of reports about the odour since Monday, with some describing it as the smell of sewage or the smell of chemicals.

Someone in Clayton Heights reported that their area smells more like garbage, according to the website.

Another person online just described it as a rotting scent.

Apparently, even those in White Rock could smell it, and they might be envious of the days the worst smell they had was low tide.

“The smell people keep referring to mostly is the chemical and rotting smell [as] well as the mildew smell. There are complaints all around our neighborhood of the smell of epoxy or chemicals and then almost a rotting garbage smell. It is very very pungent,” one person online wrote.

Others complain it’s so bad it’s given them headaches and made sleeping difficult.

But what’s actually causing it?

We reached out to the experts who monitor Metro Vancouver’s air quality, and they told us it’s definitely on their radar.

“Metro Vancouver received a significant number of smell complaints in the Surrey/Langley area in the last few days. Bylaw officers are in the field and continuing to actively assess today. There is no confirmation yet as to the possible source(s) of the odour(s),” a spokesperson told Daily Hive.

As of Thursday afternoon, there have been no air-quality advisories issued over it, and with back-to-back days of rain in the forecast, many are hoping the smell washes away by the weekend.

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Do you smell it? Let us know in the comments.