Hastings residents wrinkled their noses yesterday morning, as the city was blanketed with strong fumes from orchard burn-offs.
The acrid smell was due to clear and windless conditions.
A Hawke's Bay Regional Council spokeswoman said there had been no calls to the council's pollution hotline, and the urban air pollution level had not been exceeded.
Council rules allowed for orchadists to conduct burn-offs any day of the year, as long as they were burning diseased wood or the activity was part of an orchard's re-development.
However, "it would make more sense to burn on a day with a bit of a breeze," the spokeswoman said.