/
Strong fuel-like smell across Sharjah, Dubai and Ajman: police say there is no threat, cause still unknown
Residents of several emirates have reported a strong smell like fuel or gas since Monday. Sharjah's police chief says the situation is safe and stable, and the climate ministry says assessments show no cause for concern. No source has been named.
P
3 min
Residents of Sharjah, Dubai and Ajman began complaining on Monday, 19 October, of a strong smell like fuel or gas across parts of the three emirates. Police and the federal climate ministry say there is no threat. No one has yet said what is causing it.
Lt Gen Abdullah Mubarak bin Amer, commander-in-chief of Sharjah Police, spoke on Tuesday afternoon on Sharjah's Direct Line radio programme. "We would like to reassure the public that the situation is safe and stable and that there is nothing posing a threat," he said. Police had received complaints from some residents about odours in Sharjah and neighbouring emirates, he said, and the relevant federal authorities were investigating. "We will provide updates as they become available."
What the ministry says
A few hours later the UAE Ministry of Climate Change and Environment posted its own statement on X. Based on the assessments made so far, it said, "there are no indications of concern". The ministry said it was working with local authorities to monitor the problem and verify the nature and source of the odours, and that response efforts and field monitoring were continuing "to reduce the odours and accelerate their dissipation". The public would be informed, and given guidance in good time, if precautions became necessary. It urged people to avoid speculation and rely only on official channels.
Sharjah Police did not say what was causing the smell when asked. Dubai Police and the Dubai municipality were also contacted for comment, and no response had been reported by Wednesday morning.
Where it was noticed
In Sharjah the smell was strongest around Qassimiya and Rahmaniyya. In Dubai, residents reported it in Al Nahda, Mamzar and Deira, and other accounts add Mirdif, Al Mizhar and Mudon. In Ajman it was noticed in Nuaimia, along the Corniche and in Al Rashidiya.
Residents described it as strong and pungent. One of them, Sarah, said she could smell it as far as the E311 highway, and first thought something was wrong with her car's engine until she stopped at a petrol station and realised the smell was in the air. It lasted about two hours, she said, and eased when the wind picked up. Some residents said the intensity made them nauseous, and others turned off their air conditioning and shut their windows.
The reports carry no published air-quality readings and no health guidance beyond the official reassurance. Odour complaints are not new to the northern emirates. In 2009, residents of Ajman, Sharjah and Umm Al Quwain complained of a gas smell that Ajman's civil defence chief blamed on petrochemical factories in the Al Hamriyah free zone, though the free zone's head said no complaints had reached his office. A large fire at Sharjah's Al Hamriyah fuel depot, contained after a 24-hour battle in June 2025, has also been mentioned in coverage; nothing connects either event to this week's smell.
The Emirates has a large Indian community, and Malayalam-language news sites have given the story prominent coverage. For now, what can be said is limited: a smell, a wide area, a calm official line, and an inquiry that has not yet named a cause.
P
3 min
What did you think?
