By Thomas Maxwell Published February 13, 2025 | Comments (7) | Residents of Florida are reporting on social media about dense fog that with an unusual, metallic smell. Karen Grigoryan/Shutterstock Florida has been struck with a phenomenon of dense fog that has what residents have described as a strange odor. In social media posts on Reddit and X, individuals have called the fog unusual from other fog common in Florida, much more dense and, well, smelly. The phenomenon has, of course, sparked conspiracy theories online in the absence of credible information, as cataloged by Futurism. Some Redditors have speculated the fog captured chemicals from manufacturing plants in the region, but there is no definitive evidence to prove the claim. The federal government is distracted these days with President Trump effectively shutting down organizations by the day and pressuring its workforce of 2 million to take early retirement offers. We might just be stuck with TikTok experts on this one. Im not the conspiracy type, said one Reddit user, but this is 100% happening in central Florida. I thought it was smoke at first, but it is fog. And it has a smell I cannot describe. Another agreed, saying, I usually laugh at the conspiracy theorists, but this fog IS weird. Smells off and doesnt really look like any fog Ive seen in my 30 years living here. Another wrote the fog smells kinda like a mixture of gasoline and rubber. Honestly, I cannot really describe it. Geo-engineering practices, such as efforts to seed clouds and produce rain, only lend more credence to the conspiracy theories. Video from the dense fog this morning. Foggy conditions continue along the immediate NE FL & SE GA coasts due to lingering sea fog moving onshore. https://t.co/r6rrFcJTai NWS Jacksonville (@NWSJacksonville) February 11, 2025 An official with the National Weather Service told USA Today that the fog is just that, fog, but did not elaborate on the smell that individuals have reported. If you shine, you know, any kind of light in the fog, what youre actually seeing are the very, very small water droplets, she told USA Today. So that is likely what people are seeing. Fog is commonly produced when dense warm air from the ocean moves over cold land.Gizmodo contacted the National Weather Service for more possible explanations but we have not heard back. Users on Reddit have zeroed in on the Palatka Paper Mill located near Jacksonville as one possible culprit of the smelly fog, but that remains speculative. The paper mill is owned by the Koch Brothers, who have been major backers of President Trump.If there is any truth to the idea that pollution from manufacturing plants is to blame for the strange fog (what goes up must come down eventually), it seems like the problem will only become more prevalent as President Trump works to roll back environmental regulations and fast-track new projects worth at least $1 billion. It might be hard to remember now, but cities like Los Angeles used to have incredibly bad air quality before new tailpipe emissions standards were put in place for cars. These regulations are important, but the Republican party has long been a staunch opponent to heightened emissions standards. Maybe it should not be called fog at all but rather freedom fog.Daily NewsletterYou May Also Like By Margherita Bassi Published February 12, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published January 21, 2025 By Isaac Schultz Published January 15, 2025 By Margherita Bassi Published January 9, 2025 By Matt Novak Published January 2, 2025 By Matthew Gault Published December 18, 2024