Spread of Bad Odor in Baku: 'They Host COP-29, but They Don’t Understand Anything'

Complaints about a foul gas-like odor persist in the Əhmədli, Günəşli, NZS settlements, and some other areas of Baku. Residents report that the issue has been ongoing for several days.

“This odor is mostly noticeable in the early morning. There’s a very sharp smell in the air, resembling gas,” said a resident of the NZS settlement who wished to remain anonymous. According to them, the smell causes headaches and eye irritation. Many residents suspect the odor is related to the cleaning of oil storage facilities.

Complaints about foul odors in different parts of the city are not new. Similar issues were reported in November of last year, as well as in 2023 in Baku and the Absheron region.

Since 2021, the quality of atmospheric air across the country has been monitored. Although the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources used to publish data on this in previous years, no such information has been made available in 2024 or during the first month of this year.

Regarding the latest complaints, the Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources informed Turan that the matter will be investigated. However, similar past complaints also promised investigations, but no subsequent explanations were provided.

Meanwhile, “Azəriqaz” OJSC stated that a significant gas leak capable of causing such odors is unlikely in its pipelines.

"SOCAR Petroleum" CJSC told the agency that no cleaning operations are currently being conducted at its oil facilities in the capital and that their activities cannot be the source of such odors.

Environmental scientist Telman Zeynalov believes the bad smell in the air stems from excessive waste.

“Recently, the weather has been warm. There’s been neither snow nor rain. The air contains a lot of methane gas. The cause is the abundance of waste. So much waste has been dumped that it has started to decompose, producing artificial methane gas,” he told Radio.Azadlıq.

The ecologist explained that the release of methane gas into the atmosphere not only warms the air but also creates this situation: “The Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources must be contacted to address this issue. They’re hosting COP-29 (the UN climate conference), but they don’t understand anything.”

The expert dismissed the notion that the bad smell could be caused by oil storage activities: “The reason is the excessive waste. We don’t manage waste properly; we burn it, polluting the environment and creating a dirty ozone layer. Energy, hydrogen gas, and methane could be generated from waste, but no one is working on this.”