Russia Bakes in Soaring Temperatures

Tuesday, 27 July 2010 10:01

Headline News

Such fires break out almost every summer but they are much worse this year due to a stifling heatwave that has wrecked a fifth of Russia's arable land.

Experts said the quality of air in Moscow, not good to begin with, had plummeted as a result of the smog and that the quantity of harmful impurities in the air exceeded normal levels by up to eight times.

"This is a nightmare," said Nastya Kulikova, an accountant on her way to work. "Moscow is becoming unlivable. Breathing in this air cannot be good for you."

Doctors told Muscovites to spend as little time in the street as possible and advised people to cover their faces with scarves or masks when out. Even though most Moscow flats are not equipped with air conditioning, they said it would be a good idea to close all windows when at home.

Meanwhile, planes filled with water tried to douse the smoldering fires ringing Moscow. Officials said they had tackled more than sixty fires in the last twenty four hours, claiming that their efforts to extinguish them were largely successful. Hundreds of Russians have died in recent weeks after drowning, often drunk, at dangerous lakes and reservoirs. More than twelve hundred fish in a Moscow pond became the latest casualties on Monday when workers tipped a huge quantity of hot water into the already warm water causing the fish to due of heat shock.

Source: Telegraph