2010 Russian wildfires
Encyclopedia
The 2010 Russian wildfires were several hundred wildfires that broke out across Russia
, primarily in the west
, starting in late July 2010, due to record temperatures (the hottest recorded summer in Russian history) and drought
in the region. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
declared a state of emergency
in seven regions for the fires, while 28 other regions were under a state of emergency due to crop failures caused by the Russian drought. The fires cost roughly $15 billion USD in damages.
A combination of the smoke from the fires, producing heavy smog
blanketing large urban regions and the record-breaking heat wave put stress on the Russian healthcare system. Munich Re
estimated 56,000 people in all died from the effects of the smog and heat wave.
, had temperatures of 38–40 °C (100.4–104 °F). The warm ridging
pattern then slowly moved westward to the Ural Mountains
, and by July settled in European Russia.
On 25 June a new temperature record was set in the Asian portion of Russia, at Belogorsk, Amur Oblast
, at 42.3 °C (108.1 °F). The previous record in the Asian portion was 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) at Aksha on 21 July 2004. A new record for the highest nationwide temperature in Russia was set on 11 July, at 44 °C (111.2 °F), in Yashkul, Kalmykia
(in the European portion), beating the previous record of 43.8 °C (110.8 °F) set on 6 August 1940, in Kalmykia.
Average temperatures in the region increased to over 35 °C (95 °F). The mean high for European Russia recorded on 26 July reached 40 °C (104 °F) during the day. During July 2010, a large portion of European Russia was more than 7 °C (12.6 °F) warmer than normal.
causing significant loss of properties and an unverified number of human fatalities started in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
, the Voronezh Oblast
, Moscow Oblast
, Ryazan Oblast
and across central and western Russia due to unseasonably hot weather.
of Russia, especially in Vladimir
and Moscow Oblast
s, may be complicated. He claimed that in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
the velocity of fires was 100 meters per minute, and the fiery air flow tore trees from the root, like a hurricane. A YouTube
video was uploaded, showing a group of men escaping from a burning village in Vyksa
district by driving their car over a burning road.
The Central Regional Center MOE Russia website reported that in Moscow Oblast 130 foci of natural fires were detected, covering the area of 880 hectares. Of those, 67 fires covered an area of 178 hectares.
Moscow on Monday was covered in smoke, with reduced road visibility."Moscow once again enveloped with smoke from fires" On Monday, 2 August 2010, Vladimir Putin
scheduled a meeting with the Governors of Voronezh
, Novgorod
, Samara
, Moscow, Ryazan
, and Vladimir Oblast
s, as well as the Head of the Republic of Mordovia
.
. However Rosatom head Sergey Kiriyenko dismissed apprehension of an atomic explosion.
President Dmitry Medvedev
cut short his summer break to return to Moscow for an emergency meeting of the national security council to address the crisis. At an international meeting on July 30, amid the ongoing heat wave and wildfires, Medvedev announced on television that "practically everything is burning. The weather is anomalously hot. What's happening with the planet's climate right now needs to be a wake-up call to all of us, meaning all heads of state, all heads of social organizations, in order to take a more energetic approach to countering the global changes to the climate
".
Medvedev sacked some of his senior navy officers after one fire destroyed Russian navy equipment. The officers were accused of "incomplete professional responsibility" after several buildings were allowed to burn down and vehicles and equipment destroyed. He suggested anyone who had neglected their duties would be prosecuted. On the same day it was reported that another fire was approaching a major secret nuclear research facility in the city of Sarov
.
Environmental groups and opposition politicians suggested firefighting has been slowed down by the Forest Code law passed by the Duma
in 2006 at the order of Putin. The legislation transferred responsibility for the country's vast woodlands to regional authorities, putting 70,000 forestry guards out of work.
animals. Almost 600 fires were still burning in the country, and around 2,000 homes had been destroyed. The President fired several high-ranking military officials after fires burned through a secret military base.
Carbon monoxide
pollution in Moscow was four times above normal. Firefighters fought to prevent the wildfires from reaching Bryansk
, an area bordering Ukraine contaminated with radioactive material, including cesium-137 and strontium-90
, in the soils following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
. Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoygu warned that fires could release radionuclide
s into the air. He said that a new zone of radioactive pollution could emerge. Two fires broke out in the region but were contained.
, Voronezh
, Nizhny Novgorod
, Ryazan
, Ivanovo
, Vladimir
, Yaroslavl
, Tver
, Yekaterinburg
, Republic of Mordovia, and Mari El Republic
.
According to the State environmental agency "Mosekomonitoring", in the morning in Moscow, the maximum concentration of carbon monoxide in the air exceeded the acceptable norm by 3.6 times, the content of suspended particles by 2.8 times, and specific hydrocarbons by 1.5 times. The Moscow airports of Domodedovo
and Vnukovo
were unable to land more than 40 planes and were only able to send about 20 planes due to the strong haze caused by the smoke. As of 10 a.m., visibility at Domodedovo was 350 m and 300 m at Vnukovo. According to the Federal Air Transportation Agency, the Sheremetyevo airport
works as usual because of visibility of about 800 m.
An international football friendly match (Russia–Bulgaria) scheduled for 11 August was moved to Saint Petersburg
. Two Russian Premier League
football games were postponed because of the severe environmental situation.
According to the spectrometric data received from the NASA satellites Terra
and Aqua
, the smoke from the fires in some places rose to a height of about 12 kilometers and ended up in the stratosphere, which usually only occurs during volcanic eruptions. Satellite imagery showed that a cloud of smoke 1850 mi (2,977.3 km) wide covered Western Russia.
In Moscow, by noon the concentration of airborne pollutants intensified and reached at 6.6 times normal level for carbon monoxide
, and 2.2 times for suspended particulate matter. Seven flights heading for Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports were redirected to alternative airfields. The temperature may have reached 40 °C (104 °F) in Moscow Oblast. At Sheremetyevo International Airport
, visibility
was reduced to 325 meters.
stated that fires were raging in radioactive polluted areas near Bryansk
, which is quite polluted due to the Chernobyl disaster
of 1986. This area is still heavily contaminated and has no inhabitants. In the Moscow area a heavy thunderstorm broke over the city. NO2 rates decreased from 8 times normal to normal NO2 rates. Unfortunately expectations are not favorable with temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius. Experts stated that the polluted air would continue again within a few days. Environmental scientists stated that the brown cloud produced by the fires may cause soot
to land on Arctic sea ice, causing faster melting. The release of industrial polychlorinated biphenyls from the fires and cryoconite
causing melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet
were also concerns.
Press reports stated that a preliminary estimate of damage to the Russian economy as a result of the fires was €11.4 billion ($15 billion USD).
Fires have affected areas contaminated by the Chernobyl incident, specifically the surroundings of Bryansk
and border regions with Belarus
and Ukraine
. Due to this, soil and plant particles contaminated by radioactive material could be released into the air and spread over wider areas. The Russian government indicates that there has been no discernible increase in radiation
levels, while Greenpeace
accuses the government of denial. France's Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire
(Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute) issued its own analysis of the risk of fires in Chernobyl-affected areas on 12 August, concluding there would be no health risk currently, but marginally elevated levels of radiation could potentially be detected in the future.
Many diplomats and a number of embassies temporarily closed, among them those of Austria, Canada, Germany, Poland and Norway. On its website, the United States Department of State
advised Americans traveling to Moscow and surrounding areas should "carefully consider" their plans because of "hazardous levels of air pollution" and "numerous flight delays". Italy's Foreign Ministry advised people to "postpone any travel plans to Moscow that aren’t strictly necessary".
s, engine-driven water pump
s, respirator
s, food for firemen and volunteers, soap, and drinking water. Volunteer coordination was via LiveJournal
communities, the main one being pozar_ru. There is also a website Russian-fires.ru working on Ushahidi
platform that was used at Haiti and Chile earthquakes to coordinate volunteers.
The Moscow Times
wrote on 17 August 2010:
District on 29 July 2010 and the body was found on 15 August 2010.
One volunteer died in Mordovia
from carbon monoxide
poisoning on 4 August 2010; the body was found by Police patrol days later. Another volunteer died in a car crash in the Shatursky District on 14 August 2010.
did not provide actual real-time information for the general public. In the case of a fast-moving wildfire
there would be no chance to inform people via mass media about emergency evacuation. Furthermore, there was no official of Medvedev's
administration personally responsible for providing emergency information of this kind.
In a piece under his byline on the Moscow Times website, "Right Cause" party co-founder Georgy Bovt wrote that:
In some cases, no information about villages affected by wildfire was available for two weeks. Doctors from several medical institutions in Moscow
, interviewed by an Interfax correspondent, acknowledged that medical professionals are now forbidden to make a diagnosis of "thermal shock
".
According to a poll on information about fires found in the Vedomosti
newspaper, 68% of people trust online media such as blog
s, 28% trust independent media and 4% trust government media.
Government Radio Mayak
broadcast on August 13:
A volunteer wrote about the same events on 13 August 2010 in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo
area in his blog:
Independent radio РСН on August 14:
Another volunteer wrote about the events on 15 August 2010 in the same Orekhovo-Zuyevo
area in his blog:
to generate energy. In 2002, a series of hard-to-extinguish peat fires led the government to the recognition that peat fields needed to be rewatered to prevent wildfires. By 2010, however, large peat areas that had not been rewatered contributed to the wildfires. Government officials said they could not have anticipated the heatwave that caused the fires. However, critics have blamed complacent officials for ignoring warnings of blazes near villages. Sergey Robaten, Vadim Tatur, and Maksim Kalashnikov argued that the fires and the inability to contain and extinguish them was due to “the inaction of bureaucrats” and Putin's elimination of the Russian State Fire Service
in 2007. Putin had transferred responsibility for fighting fires to those renting state property and the subjects of the federation, with the assumption that owners or renters would spend the money necessary to prevent forest fires. However, the reality in Russia was that companies were seeking to make quick profits and so neglected forest fire fighting. Putin's spokesman stated "this is a well functioning system which only needs some minor adjustments".
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
, primarily in the west
European Russia
European Russia refers to the western areas of Russia that lie within Europe, comprising roughly 3,960,000 square kilometres , larger in area than India, and spanning across 40% of Europe. Its eastern border is defined by the Ural Mountains and in the south it is defined by the border with...
, starting in late July 2010, due to record temperatures (the hottest recorded summer in Russian history) and drought
Drought
A drought is an extended period of months or years when a region notes a deficiency in its water supply. Generally, this occurs when a region receives consistently below average precipitation. It can have a substantial impact on the ecosystem and agriculture of the affected region...
in the region. Russian President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
declared a state of emergency
State of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
in seven regions for the fires, while 28 other regions were under a state of emergency due to crop failures caused by the Russian drought. The fires cost roughly $15 billion USD in damages.
A combination of the smoke from the fires, producing heavy smog
Smog
Smog is a type of air pollution; the word "smog" is a portmanteau of smoke and fog. Modern smog is a type of air pollution derived from vehicular emission from internal combustion engines and industrial fumes that react in the atmosphere with sunlight to form secondary pollutants that also combine...
blanketing large urban regions and the record-breaking heat wave put stress on the Russian healthcare system. Munich Re
Munich Re
Munich Re Group is a reinsurance company based in Munich, Germany. It is one of the world’s leading reinsurers. ERGO, a Munich Re subsidiary, is the Group’s primary insurance arm....
estimated 56,000 people in all died from the effects of the smog and heat wave.
Prelude
During 2010 Russia experienced dry, hot weather starting around late May – early June. Temperatures of 35 °C (95 °F) first occurred after 12 June, which alone was an abnormality for the country (average mid-June temperatures seldom rise above 30 °C (86 °F)). In the late June, Russian regions such as the Eurasian Sakha Republic, as well as areas of partial taigaTaiga
Taiga , also known as the boreal forest, is a biome characterized by coniferous forests.Taiga is the world's largest terrestrial biome. In North America it covers most of inland Canada and Alaska as well as parts of the extreme northern continental United States and is known as the Northwoods...
, had temperatures of 38–40 °C (100.4–104 °F). The warm ridging
Ridge (meteorology)
A ridge is an elongated region of relatively high atmospheric pressure, the opposite of a trough....
pattern then slowly moved westward to the Ural Mountains
Ural Mountains
The Ural Mountains , or simply the Urals, are a mountain range that runs approximately from north to south through western Russia, from the coast of the Arctic Ocean to the Ural River and northwestern Kazakhstan. Their eastern side is usually considered the natural boundary between Europe and Asia...
, and by July settled in European Russia.
On 25 June a new temperature record was set in the Asian portion of Russia, at Belogorsk, Amur Oblast
Belogorsk, Amur Oblast
Belogorsk is a town in Amur Oblast, Russia, located on the Tom River, a tributary of the Zeya. Population: 67,400 ; 53,000 ; 34,000 .-History:...
, at 42.3 °C (108.1 °F). The previous record in the Asian portion was 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) at Aksha on 21 July 2004. A new record for the highest nationwide temperature in Russia was set on 11 July, at 44 °C (111.2 °F), in Yashkul, Kalmykia
Kalmykia
The Republic of Kalmykia is a federal subject of Russia . Population: It is the only Buddhist region in Europe. It has also become well-known as an international chess mecca because its former President, Kirsan Ilyumzhinov, is the head of the International Chess Federation .-Geography:*Area:...
(in the European portion), beating the previous record of 43.8 °C (110.8 °F) set on 6 August 1940, in Kalmykia.
Average temperatures in the region increased to over 35 °C (95 °F). The mean high for European Russia recorded on 26 July reached 40 °C (104 °F) during the day. During July 2010, a large portion of European Russia was more than 7 °C (12.6 °F) warmer than normal.
29 July
Peat firesPeat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
causing significant loss of properties and an unverified number of human fatalities started in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: The oblast is crossed by the Volga River. Apart from Nizhny Novgorod's metropolitan area, the biggest city is Arzamas...
, the Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on June 13, 1934.-Main rivers:*Don*Voronezh*Bityug*Khopyor-Economy:...
, Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
, Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Ryazan, which is the oblast's largest city. Population: -Geography:...
and across central and western Russia due to unseasonably hot weather.
31 July
The head of EMERCOM, Sergey Shoygu, reported on 31 July 2010 that the fire situation in the seventeen federal subjectsFederal subjects of Russia
Russia is a federation which, since March 1, 2008, consists of 83 federal subjects . In 1993, when the Constitution was adopted, there were 89 federal subjects listed...
of Russia, especially in Vladimir
Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow...
and Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
s, may be complicated. He claimed that in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: The oblast is crossed by the Volga River. Apart from Nizhny Novgorod's metropolitan area, the biggest city is Arzamas...
the velocity of fires was 100 meters per minute, and the fiery air flow tore trees from the root, like a hurricane. A YouTube
YouTube
YouTube is a video-sharing website, created by three former PayPal employees in February 2005, on which users can upload, view and share videos....
video was uploaded, showing a group of men escaping from a burning village in Vyksa
Vyksa
Vyksa is a town and the administrative center of Vyksunsky District of Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southwest of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: It was founded in 1765; town status was granted to it in 1934.-External links:*...
district by driving their car over a burning road.
1 August
On 1 August 2010, the area of the forest fires was 114000 ha (1,140 km²).The Central Regional Center MOE Russia website reported that in Moscow Oblast 130 foci of natural fires were detected, covering the area of 880 hectares. Of those, 67 fires covered an area of 178 hectares.
2 August
According to "Interfax" referring to the head of the National Center for Crisis Management of EMERCOM Vladimir Stepanov, as of 2010, Russia revealed approximately 7,000 fires in the area over 500000 ha (5,000 km²). Fire was also burning in fourteen federal subjects of Russia, and on 2010, officials reported the death of 34 people.Moscow on Monday was covered in smoke, with reduced road visibility."Moscow once again enveloped with smoke from fires" On Monday, 2 August 2010, Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation and is the current Prime Minister of Russia, as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
scheduled a meeting with the Governors of Voronezh
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on June 13, 1934.-Main rivers:*Don*Voronezh*Bityug*Khopyor-Economy:...
, Novgorod
Novgorod Oblast
Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , located between Moscow and Saint Petersburg. Its administrative center is the city of Veliky Novgorod. Some of the oldest Russian cities, including Veliky Novgorod and Staraya Russa, are located there...
, Samara
Samara Oblast
Samara Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Samara. Population: In 1936–1990, it was known as Kuybyshev Oblast , after the Soviet name of Samara .-Demographics:Population:...
, Moscow, Ryazan
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Ryazan, which is the oblast's largest city. Population: -Geography:...
, and Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow...
s, as well as the Head of the Republic of Mordovia
Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia , also known as Mordvinia, is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Saransk. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia...
.
4 August
By 4 August, the wildfires were still burning over 188525 ha (1,885.3 km²), with a death toll of at least 48. Some fires burned in areas near the nuclear research center in SarovSarov
Sarov is a closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Until 1995 it was known as Kremlyov ., while from 1946 to 1991 it was called Arzamas-16 . The town is off limits to foreigners as it is the Russian center for nuclear research. Population: -History:The history of the town can be divided...
. However Rosatom head Sergey Kiriyenko dismissed apprehension of an atomic explosion.
President Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
cut short his summer break to return to Moscow for an emergency meeting of the national security council to address the crisis. At an international meeting on July 30, amid the ongoing heat wave and wildfires, Medvedev announced on television that "practically everything is burning. The weather is anomalously hot. What's happening with the planet's climate right now needs to be a wake-up call to all of us, meaning all heads of state, all heads of social organizations, in order to take a more energetic approach to countering the global changes to the climate
Global warming
Global warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
".
Medvedev sacked some of his senior navy officers after one fire destroyed Russian navy equipment. The officers were accused of "incomplete professional responsibility" after several buildings were allowed to burn down and vehicles and equipment destroyed. He suggested anyone who had neglected their duties would be prosecuted. On the same day it was reported that another fire was approaching a major secret nuclear research facility in the city of Sarov
Sarov
Sarov is a closed town in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia. Until 1995 it was known as Kremlyov ., while from 1946 to 1991 it was called Arzamas-16 . The town is off limits to foreigners as it is the Russian center for nuclear research. Population: -History:The history of the town can be divided...
.
Environmental groups and opposition politicians suggested firefighting has been slowed down by the Forest Code law passed by the Duma
Duma
A Duma is any of various representative assemblies in modern Russia and Russian history. The State Duma in the Russian Empire and Russian Federation corresponds to the lower house of the parliament. Simply it is a form of Russian governmental institution, that was formed during the reign of the...
in 2006 at the order of Putin. The legislation transferred responsibility for the country's vast woodlands to regional authorities, putting 70,000 forestry guards out of work.
5 August
According to the Emergencies Ministry, there were 843 reported outbreaks of fires, including 47 peat fires. There were 73 large fires. The fires threatened an animal sanctuary for over 1,800 animals, including dogs and retired circusCircus
A circus is commonly a travelling company of performers that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, unicyclists and other stunt-oriented artists...
animals. Almost 600 fires were still burning in the country, and around 2,000 homes had been destroyed. The President fired several high-ranking military officials after fires burned through a secret military base.
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
pollution in Moscow was four times above normal. Firefighters fought to prevent the wildfires from reaching Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, an area bordering Ukraine contaminated with radioactive material, including cesium-137 and strontium-90
Strontium-90
Strontium-90 is a radioactive isotope of strontium, with a half-life of 28.8 years.-Radioactivity:Natural strontium is nonradioactive and nontoxic, but 90Sr is a radioactivity hazard...
, in the soils following the 1986 Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
. Emergencies Minister Sergey Shoygu warned that fires could release radionuclide
Radionuclide
A radionuclide is an atom with an unstable nucleus, which is a nucleus characterized by excess energy available to be imparted either to a newly created radiation particle within the nucleus or to an atomic electron. The radionuclide, in this process, undergoes radioactive decay, and emits gamma...
s into the air. He said that a new zone of radioactive pollution could emerge. Two fires broke out in the region but were contained.
6 August
According to the Emergencies Ministry, there were registered 831 fires, including 42 peat fires. 80 large fires were registered in an area of 150800 ha (1,508 km²). Almost 162,000 people were reported to be fighting with the flames in the regions of MoscowMoscow Oblast
Moscow Oblast , or Podmoskovye , is a federal subject of Russia . Its area, at , is relatively small compared to other federal subjects, but it is one of the most densely populated regions in the country and, with the 2010 population of 7,092,941, is the second most populous federal subject...
, Voronezh
Voronezh Oblast
Voronezh Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It was established on June 13, 1934.-Main rivers:*Don*Voronezh*Bityug*Khopyor-Economy:...
, Nizhny Novgorod
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast
Nizhny Novgorod Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Nizhny Novgorod. Population: The oblast is crossed by the Volga River. Apart from Nizhny Novgorod's metropolitan area, the biggest city is Arzamas...
, Ryazan
Ryazan Oblast
Ryazan Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Ryazan, which is the oblast's largest city. Population: -Geography:...
, Ivanovo
Ivanovo Oblast
Ivanovo Oblast is a federal subject of Russia .Its three largest cities are Ivanovo , Kineshma, and Shuya.The principal center of tourism is Plyos. The Volga River flows through the northern part of the oblast....
, Vladimir
Vladimir Oblast
Vladimir Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Vladimir, which is located east of Moscow...
, Yaroslavl
Yaroslavl Oblast
Yaroslavl Oblast is a federal subject of Russia , which is located in the Central Federal District, surrounded by Tver, Moscow, Ivanovo, Vladimir, Kostroma, and Vologda Oblasts. This geographic location affords the oblast the advantages of proximity to Moscow and St. Petersburg...
, Tver
Tver Oblast
Tver Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . Its administrative center is the city of Tver. From 1935 to 1990, it was named Kalinin Oblast after Mikhail Kalinin. Population: Tver Oblast is an area of lakes, such as Seliger and Brosno...
, Yekaterinburg
Sverdlovsk Oblast
Sverdlovsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia located in the Urals Federal District. Its administrative center is the city of Yekaterinburg formerly known as Sverdlovsk. Population: -Geography:...
, Republic of Mordovia, and Mari El Republic
Mari El
The Mari El Republic is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Yoshkar-Ola. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia, along the Volga River. The swampy Mari Depression is located in the west of the republic...
.
According to the State environmental agency "Mosekomonitoring", in the morning in Moscow, the maximum concentration of carbon monoxide in the air exceeded the acceptable norm by 3.6 times, the content of suspended particles by 2.8 times, and specific hydrocarbons by 1.5 times. The Moscow airports of Domodedovo
Domodedovo International Airport
Moscow Domodedovo Airport or Domodedovo International Airport is an international airport located in Domodedovsky District, Moscow Oblast, Russia, south-southeast of the centre of Moscow...
and Vnukovo
Vnukovo International Airport
Vnukovo International Airport , is a dual runway international airport located southwest from the centre of Moscow, Russia. It is one of three major airports serving Moscow...
were unable to land more than 40 planes and were only able to send about 20 planes due to the strong haze caused by the smoke. As of 10 a.m., visibility at Domodedovo was 350 m and 300 m at Vnukovo. According to the Federal Air Transportation Agency, the Sheremetyevo airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo...
works as usual because of visibility of about 800 m.
An international football friendly match (Russia–Bulgaria) scheduled for 11 August was moved to Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg
Saint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea...
. Two Russian Premier League
Russian Premier League
The Russian Premier League , currently called SOGAZ Russian Football Championship due to sponsorship reasons, is the top division of Russian football. There are 16 teams in the competition...
football games were postponed because of the severe environmental situation.
According to the spectrometric data received from the NASA satellites Terra
Terra (satellite)
Terra is a multi-national NASA scientific research satellite in a sun-synchronous orbit around the Earth. It is the flagship of the Earth Observing System...
and Aqua
Aqua (satellite)
Aqua is a multi-national NASA scientific research satellite in orbit around the Earth, studying the precipitation, evaporation, and cycling of water. It is the second major component of the Earth Observing System preceded by Terra and followed by Aura .The name "Aqua" comes from the Latin word...
, the smoke from the fires in some places rose to a height of about 12 kilometers and ended up in the stratosphere, which usually only occurs during volcanic eruptions. Satellite imagery showed that a cloud of smoke 1850 mi (2,977.3 km) wide covered Western Russia.
7 August
Emergency officials registered 853 outbreaks of fire by 7 August, including 32 peat fires, with a total area of 193516 ha (1,935.2 km²), in which 244 islands of fire were put out, and 290 new fires sprung up.In Moscow, by noon the concentration of airborne pollutants intensified and reached at 6.6 times normal level for carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
, and 2.2 times for suspended particulate matter. Seven flights heading for Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports were redirected to alternative airfields. The temperature may have reached 40 °C (104 °F) in Moscow Oblast. At Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport
Sheremetyevo International Airport , is an international airport located in the Moscow Oblast, Russia, north-west of central Moscow. It is a hub for the passenger operations of the Russian international airline Aeroflot, and one of the three major airports serving Moscow along with Domodedovo...
, visibility
Visibility
In meteorology, visibility is a measure of the distance at which an object or light can be clearly discerned. It is reported within surface weather observations and METAR code either in meters or statute miles, depending upon the country. Visibility affects all forms of traffic: roads, sailing...
was reduced to 325 meters.
10 August
Early in the afternoon of 10 August Greenpeace RussiaGreenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
stated that fires were raging in radioactive polluted areas near Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
, which is quite polluted due to the Chernobyl disaster
Chernobyl disaster
The Chernobyl disaster was a nuclear accident that occurred on 26 April 1986 at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in Ukraine , which was under the direct jurisdiction of the central authorities in Moscow...
of 1986. This area is still heavily contaminated and has no inhabitants. In the Moscow area a heavy thunderstorm broke over the city. NO2 rates decreased from 8 times normal to normal NO2 rates. Unfortunately expectations are not favorable with temperatures over 35 degrees Celsius. Experts stated that the polluted air would continue again within a few days. Environmental scientists stated that the brown cloud produced by the fires may cause soot
Soot
Soot is a general term that refers to impure carbon particles resulting from the incomplete combustion of a hydrocarbon. It is more properly restricted to the product of the gas-phase combustion process but is commonly extended to include the residual pyrolyzed fuel particles such as cenospheres,...
to land on Arctic sea ice, causing faster melting. The release of industrial polychlorinated biphenyls from the fires and cryoconite
Cryoconite
Cryoconite is powdery windblown dust which is deposited and builds up on snow, glaciers, or icecaps. It contains small amounts of soot which absorbs solar radiation melting the snow or ice beneath the deposit sometimes creating a cryoconite hole. Cryoconite may contain dust from far away...
causing melting on the Greenland Ice Sheet
Greenland ice sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a vast body of ice covering , roughly 80% of the surface of Greenland. It is the second largest ice body in the world, after the Antarctic Ice Sheet. The ice sheet is almost long in a north-south direction, and its greatest width is at a latitude of 77°N, near its...
were also concerns.
12 August
With the number of fires being reduced from 612 to 562, the skies over Moscow were mostly clear on 12 August, giving the city a much needed break from the devastating smog. Residents in the city told reporters that they were overjoyed with the suddenly improved air; most of whom stopped wearing their masks as the air was safe to breathe. However, forecasts indicated that a shift in the winds was likely to occur in the coming days, likely bringing the smog back into Moscow. Reports indicated that roughly 80,000 hectares of land were still burning.Press reports stated that a preliminary estimate of damage to the Russian economy as a result of the fires was €11.4 billion ($15 billion USD).
13 August
After weeks without rain, heavy downpours soaked Moscow and nearby areas, bringing further relief to the extended heat wave. However, in Sarov, about 480 kilometres (298.3 mi) east of Moscow, a new fire started near the country's top nuclear research center. Earlier in August, radioactive and explosive materials were moved out of the facility due to the threat of fires; however, they were later returned when the threat lessened. Over 3,400 firefighters are battling the blaze and are being assisted by a special firefighting train.2 September
A new wave of wildfires flared up in Russia in September, killing at least 8 people and destroying nearly 900 buildings.Public health effects
Deaths in Moscow were averaged 700 a day, about twice the average number. The heat wave is believed to have been unprecedented in Russian history, and killed 55,736 people, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.Fires have affected areas contaminated by the Chernobyl incident, specifically the surroundings of Bryansk
Bryansk
Bryansk is a city and the administrative center of Bryansk Oblast, Russia, located southwest of Moscow. Population: -History:The first written mention of Bryansk was in 1146, in the Hypatian Codex, as Debryansk...
and border regions with Belarus
Belarus
Belarus , officially the Republic of Belarus, is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe, bordered clockwise by Russia to the northeast, Ukraine to the south, Poland to the west, and Lithuania and Latvia to the northwest. Its capital is Minsk; other major cities include Brest, Grodno , Gomel ,...
and Ukraine
Ukraine
Ukraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Due to this, soil and plant particles contaminated by radioactive material could be released into the air and spread over wider areas. The Russian government indicates that there has been no discernible increase in radiation
Radiation
In physics, radiation is a process in which energetic particles or energetic waves travel through a medium or space. There are two distinct types of radiation; ionizing and non-ionizing...
levels, while Greenpeace
Greenpeace
Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with offices in over forty countries and with an international coordinating body in Amsterdam, The Netherlands...
accuses the government of denial. France's Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire
Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire
The French Institut de radioprotection et de sûreté nucléaire is a public official establishment with an industrial and commercial aspect created by the AFSSE Act and by the February 22, 2002 decreed n°2002-254...
(Radioprotection and Nuclear Safety Institute) issued its own analysis of the risk of fires in Chernobyl-affected areas on 12 August, concluding there would be no health risk currently, but marginally elevated levels of radiation could potentially be detected in the future.
International assistance and response
Russia has received assistance in extinguishing the fires from China, Serbia, Italy, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Poland, Lithuania, Iran, Estonia, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, France, Germany, Latvia and FinlandMany diplomats and a number of embassies temporarily closed, among them those of Austria, Canada, Germany, Poland and Norway. On its website, the United States Department of State
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
advised Americans traveling to Moscow and surrounding areas should "carefully consider" their plans because of "hazardous levels of air pollution" and "numerous flight delays". Italy's Foreign Ministry advised people to "postpone any travel plans to Moscow that aren’t strictly necessary".
Volunteer efforts
Volunteers took part in fire fighting and helping those affected by the fires. In some cases, informal help is faster and more effective than official help. Volunteers buy and transport equipment such as fire suppression materials, chainsawChainsaw
A chainsaw is a portable mechanical saw, powered by electricity, compressed air, hydraulic power, or most commonly a two-stroke engine...
s, engine-driven water pump
Pump
A pump is a device used to move fluids, such as liquids, gases or slurries.A pump displaces a volume by physical or mechanical action. Pumps fall into three major groups: direct lift, displacement, and gravity pumps...
s, respirator
Respirator
A respirator is a device designed to protect the wearer from inhaling harmful dusts, fumes, vapors, or gases. Respirators come in a wide range of types and sizes used by the military, private industry, and the public...
s, food for firemen and volunteers, soap, and drinking water. Volunteer coordination was via LiveJournal
LiveJournal
LiveJournal is a virtual community where Internet users can keep a blog, journal or diary. LiveJournal is also the name of the free and open source server software that was designed to run the LiveJournal virtual community....
communities, the main one being pozar_ru. There is also a website Russian-fires.ru working on Ushahidi
Ushahidi
Ushahidi, Inc. is a non-profit software company that develops free and open source software for information collection, visualization and interactive mapping....
platform that was used at Haiti and Chile earthquakes to coordinate volunteers.
The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times
The Moscow Times is an English-language daily newspaper published in Moscow, Russia since 1992. The circulation in 2008 stood at 35,000 copies and the newspaper is typically given out for free at places English-language "expats" attend, including hotels, cafés and restaurants, as well as by...
wrote on 17 August 2010:
Volunteers, widely snubbed by professional firefighters because of their lack of experience, have saved several villages by using basic shovels and buckets of water and sand. Even after a larger fire is suppressed with a fire hose, the underbrush often continues to burn, and a gust of wind can ignite it into a blaze once again. Using shovels and water backpacks, volunteers in Yuvino isolated burning groundcover, cleared a fire line around the village, and loaned firefighters a pump to fill their trucks.
Volunteer casualties
One volunteer died in action in the LukhovitsyLukhovitsy
Lukhovitsy is a town and the administrative center of Lukhovitsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located on the Oka River southeast of Moscow. Population:...
District on 29 July 2010 and the body was found on 15 August 2010.
One volunteer died in Mordovia
Mordovia
The Republic of Mordovia , also known as Mordvinia, is a federal subject of Russia . Its capital is the city of Saransk. Population: -Geography:The republic is located in the eastern part of the East European Plain of Russia...
from carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide , also called carbonous oxide, is a colorless, odorless, and tasteless gas that is slightly lighter than air. It is highly toxic to humans and animals in higher quantities, although it is also produced in normal animal metabolism in low quantities, and is thought to have some normal...
poisoning on 4 August 2010; the body was found by Police patrol days later. Another volunteer died in a car crash in the Shatursky District on 14 August 2010.
Information censorship
Local Russian commercial and governmental mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
did not provide actual real-time information for the general public. In the case of a fast-moving wildfire
Wildfire
A wildfire is any uncontrolled fire in combustible vegetation that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, desert fire, grass fire, hill fire, squirrel fire, vegetation fire, veldfire, and wilkjjofire may be used to describe the same...
there would be no chance to inform people via mass media about emergency evacuation. Furthermore, there was no official of Medvedev's
Dmitry Medvedev
Dmitry Anatolyevich Medvedev is the third President of the Russian Federation.Born to a family of academics, Medvedev graduated from the Law Department of Leningrad State University in 1987. He defended his dissertation in 1990 and worked as a docent at his alma mater, now renamed to Saint...
administration personally responsible for providing emergency information of this kind.
In a piece under his byline on the Moscow Times website, "Right Cause" party co-founder Georgy Bovt wrote that:
"State-controlled television revealed as little information as possible to the public about the fires and smog. Its primary goal was to prevent panic. This eerily reminded me of how the Soviet government reacted to the ChernobylChernobylChernobyl or Chornobyl is an abandoned city in northern Ukraine, in Kiev Oblast, near the border with Belarus. The city had been the administrative centre of the Chernobyl Raion since 1932....
explosion in April 1986. In a similar manner, the authorities withheld information about the extent of the nuclear fallout to “avoid panic."
In some cases, no information about villages affected by wildfire was available for two weeks. Doctors from several medical institutions in Moscow
Moscow
Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
, interviewed by an Interfax correspondent, acknowledged that medical professionals are now forbidden to make a diagnosis of "thermal shock
Heat illness
Heat illness or heat-related illness is a spectrum of disorders due to environmental heat exposure. It includes minor conditions such as heat cramps, heat syncope, and heat exhaustion as well as the more severe condition known as heat stroke....
".
According to a poll on information about fires found in the Vedomosti
Vedomosti
Vedomosti is a Russian language business daily. It is a joint venture between Dow Jones, the Financial Times and Sanoma, publishers of The Moscow Times....
newspaper, 68% of people trust online media such as blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
s, 28% trust independent media and 4% trust government media.
Government Radio Mayak
Radio Mayak
Radio Mayak is a radio broadcasting company in Russia, owned by VGTRK. Mayak is the Russian word for "lighthouse" or "beacon". As well as Radio Mayak proper , the company is also responsible for the youth music channel Radio Yunost.Radio Mayak was established in August 1964 as a major All-Union...
broadcast on August 13:
Vice-minister of Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Chupriyan said on Friday (13 August 2010) that the peat fires were extinguished completely in the NoginskNoginskNoginsk is a town and the administrative center of Noginsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of the MKAD ring road on the Klyazma River. Population:...
, KolomnaKolomnaKolomna is an ancient city and the administrative center of Kolomensky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, situated at the confluence of the Moskva and Oka Rivers, southeast of Moscow. The area of the city is about . The city was founded in 1177...
, Pavlovsky PosadPavlovsky PosadPavlovsky Posad is a town and the administrative center of Pavlovo-Posadsky District of Moscow Oblast, Russia, located from Moscow, at the confluence of the Klyazma and the Vokhna Rivers. Population: The Moscow–Vladimir railway goes through the town....
and Orekhovo-ZuyevoOrekhovo-ZuyevoOrekhovo-Zuyevo is an industrial city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. It is situated in a forested area on the Klyazma River . The city was established in 1917 when three villages were merged, hence its name. Population: -History:The first facts about Orekhovo-Zuyevo date back...
areas near MoscowMoscowMoscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...
.
A volunteer wrote about the same events on 13 August 2010 in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo
Orekhovo-Zuyevo
Orekhovo-Zuyevo is an industrial city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. It is situated in a forested area on the Klyazma River . The city was established in 1917 when three villages were merged, hence its name. Population: -History:The first facts about Orekhovo-Zuyevo date back...
area in his blog:
I have never seen such ... Along the roads — the burned forest. Here and there still smoldering, smoking. The road blocks smoke. What you saw in Moscow — it is nothing you have seen.
Independent radio РСН on August 14:
The MOE said that nothing is burning ... TV show that nothing is burning ... Civilians forced to buy fire equipment for firemen ... I saw open fire at Orekhovo-ZuyevoOrekhovo-ZuyevoOrekhovo-Zuyevo is an industrial city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. It is situated in a forested area on the Klyazma River . The city was established in 1917 when three villages were merged, hence its name. Population: -History:The first facts about Orekhovo-Zuyevo date back...
area.
Another volunteer wrote about the events on 15 August 2010 in the same Orekhovo-Zuyevo
Orekhovo-Zuyevo
Orekhovo-Zuyevo is an industrial city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. It is situated in a forested area on the Klyazma River . The city was established in 1917 when three villages were merged, hence its name. Population: -History:The first facts about Orekhovo-Zuyevo date back...
area in his blog:
The situation in OrekhovoOrekhovo-ZuyevoOrekhovo-Zuyevo is an industrial city in Moscow Oblast, Russia, located east of Moscow. It is situated in a forested area on the Klyazma River . The city was established in 1917 when three villages were merged, hence its name. Population: -History:The first facts about Orekhovo-Zuyevo date back...
is stable, i.e. a stable grassroots fire.
Criticism
The swamps and bogs surrounding Moscow had been drained in the 1960s for agricultural use and mining of peatPeat
Peat is an accumulation of partially decayed vegetation matter or histosol. Peat forms in wetland bogs, moors, muskegs, pocosins, mires, and peat swamp forests. Peat is harvested as an important source of fuel in certain parts of the world...
to generate energy. In 2002, a series of hard-to-extinguish peat fires led the government to the recognition that peat fields needed to be rewatered to prevent wildfires. By 2010, however, large peat areas that had not been rewatered contributed to the wildfires. Government officials said they could not have anticipated the heatwave that caused the fires. However, critics have blamed complacent officials for ignoring warnings of blazes near villages. Sergey Robaten, Vadim Tatur, and Maksim Kalashnikov argued that the fires and the inability to contain and extinguish them was due to “the inaction of bureaucrats” and Putin's elimination of the Russian State Fire Service
Russian State Fire Service
Russian State Fire Service is the highest fire service body of Russian Federation. A part of the Ministry of Emergency Situations since 2001, the State Fire Service is divided into the Federal Fire Service and the Fire Service of the Federal subjects of Russia.State Fire Service's 220 000...
in 2007. Putin had transferred responsibility for fighting fires to those renting state property and the subjects of the federation, with the assumption that owners or renters would spend the money necessary to prevent forest fires. However, the reality in Russia was that companies were seeking to make quick profits and so neglected forest fire fighting. Putin's spokesman stated "this is a well functioning system which only needs some minor adjustments".
See also
- Similar disasters
- List of wildfires
- 2010 Bolivia forest fires2010 Bolivia forest firesThe 2010 Bolivia forest fires led the country's government to declare a state of emergency, as wildfires spread across the country. More than 25,000 fires are burning across . These raging fires have destroyed nearly sixty homes...
- 2010 China drought and dust storms2010 China drought and dust stormsThe 2010 China drought and dust storms were a series of severe droughts during the spring of 2010 that affected Yunnan, Guizhou, Guangxi, Sichuan, Shanxi, Henan, Shaanxi, Chongqing, Hebei and Gansu in the People's Republic of China as well as parts of Southeast Asia including Vietnam and Thailand,...
- 2010 Pakistan floods2010 Pakistan floodsThe 2010 Pakistan floods began in late July 2010, resulting from heavy monsoon rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh, Punjab and Balochistan regions of Pakistan and affected the Indus River basin. Approximately one-fifth of Pakistan's total land area was underwater, approximately...
- 2010 China floods
- 2003 European heat wave2003 European heat waveThe 2003 European heat wave was the hottest summer on record in Europe since at least 1540. France was hit especially hard. The heat wave led to health crises in several countries and combined with drought to create a crop shortfall in Southern Europe...
- 1997 Southeast Asian haze1997 Southeast Asian hazeThe 1997 Southeast Asian haze was a large-scale air quality disaster which occurred during the second half of 1997, its after-effects causing widespread atmospheric visibility and health problems within Southeast Asia...
- Weather and climate
- Climate of RussiaClimate of RussiaThe climate of Russia is formed under the influence of several determining factors. The enormous size of the country and the remoteness of many areas from the sea result in the dominance of the continental climate, which is prevalent in European and Asian Russia except for the tundra and the...
- Global storm activity of 2010Global storm activity of 2010The former article was split into three to avoid confusion between the three periods of storm activity.*Global storm activity of early 2010 – January–April 2010*Global storm activity of mid 2010 – May–September 2010...
- Siberian HighSiberian HighThe Siberian High is a massive collection of cold or very cold dry air that accumulates on the Eurasian terrain for much of the year. It reaches its greatest size and strength in the winter, when the air temperature near the center of the high-pressure cell or anticyclone is often lower than...
- Climate of Russia
External links
- The Russian Heat Wave of 2010, NOAA
- Natural Variability Main Culprit of Deadly Russian Heat Wave That Killed Thousands, NOAA - March 9, 2011
- Heatwave in Russia - Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Carbon Monoxide over Western Russia - Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Fires in Eastern Siberia - Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Smoke over Western Russia - Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Smoke over Moscow - Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Fires and Smoke in Russia - Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Moscow: Covered in Smoke - slideshow by Life magazine
- Chronicles record Russian inferno years (RT article)
- Force Majeure: Wildfires in Russia by Emile HirschEmile HirschEmile Davenport Hirsch is an American television and film actor. He began performing in the late 1990s, appearing in several television films and series, and became known as a film actor after roles in Lords of Dogtown, The Emperor's Club, The Girl Next Door, Alpha Dog, and Into the Wild. In...