The fires affecting Moscow are concentrated in the Ryazan region, some 250 kilometers to the south. This is not the first time smog has appeared in Moscow in recent months, with local authorities advising residents to wear masks to protect themselves earlier this month.
Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.
Wildfires in Russia have burned across a combined area the size of Greece so far in 2020, surpassing official estimates threefold. Experts warn that this year’s blazes could become the most destructive in history.
Gallery | The forest fires have covered an area larger than Greece and are emitting black smog that harms nearby populations.
Russian weather officials and environmentalists have said climate change is a major factor behind the increase in fires.
Gallery | The fires, which were swept in from Mongolia by high winds, have caused almost $9.4 million in damage.
Most of the blazes are in a region that saw possibly the hottest-ever temperature above the Arctic Circle this month.
Officials say a wildfire in Southwest Washington that ballooned Sunday, causing regional air quality issues, may have been started by a firework or firearm.
Wildfires are still burning in Quebec's northern zone, with 11 fires still considered out of control early Tuesday morning. However, the provincial forest fire prevention agency, SOPFEU, said rain since Sunday and rising humidity have helped stabilize the flames for the time being.
Drought levels have been raised already for parts of the province and Dave Campbell, with the B.C. River Forecast Centre, says the current forecast points to drought conditions provincewide in the coming weeks.
The temperature in Verkhoyansk hit 38 degrees Celsius on Saturday, according to Pogoda i Klimat, a website that compiles Russian meteorological data.
More than a month’s worth of rain has soaked parts of the state in just a few days, setting records.
Air quality alerts remain in place for several areas in B.C.'s southern Interior on Tuesday as more than 200 wildfires continue to burn through hundreds of square kilometres of the province.
The wildfires can burrow into rich organic material, such as the vast peatlands that ring the Arctic, and smolder under the snowpack throughout the frigid winter.
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