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Smog From Spreading Russia Fires Chokes Moscow

   VOA News 06 August 2010

Photo: ASSOCIATED PRESS

   Tourists  wear protective face masks as they walk along the Red square
   in  thick  smog, with Saint Basil's Cathedral partially visible in the
   back, in Moscow, Russia, Friday, Aug. 6, 2010.

   Dense  clouds  of smoke choked Russia's capital Friday, forcing planes
   to divert and residents to stay indoors, as raging wildfires continued
   to spread across the country.
   The  thick  haze  limited visibility, descending on Moscow just as the
   city was being battered by record heat.
   Moscow city officials say airborne pollutants like carbon monoxide are
   at  least  four  times  higher  than normal.  Health officials warned
   people  to  limit physical activity and wear surgical masks over their
   faces if they venture outside to avoid the noxious smog.
   The poor visibility also affected activity at Moscow's airports, where
   several flights were grounded or diverted.
   Russia's  Emergency  Situations Ministry says it is working to prevent
   the  fires  from  reaching the western Bryansk region, where officials
   fear  they  could  release  into  the atmosphere radioactive particles
   buried in the soil from the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.
   Authorities  also  have  ordered  explosives  evacuated  from military
   facilities,  and  are  working  to control blazes around the country's
   main  nuclear  research  center  in  the  city  of  Sarov,  about  400
   kilometers east of Moscow.
   The  smoke  and smog are the result of more than 500 wildfires burning
   across parts of central and western Russia, already plagued by drought
   and record-breaking heat.
   Russian  officials  say  the  fires have killed at least 52 people and
   left thousands homeless.
   Images  from  the  U.S.  space agency, NASA, show the smoke plume from
   those fires extending about 3,000 kilometers from east to west.
   Health officials in Russia compare daily exposure to the air pollution
   to smoking several packs of cigarettes.
   More  than 150,000 firefighters, soldiers and others have been working
   to  put  out  the fires, but there are reports that the dense smoke is
   seeping into homes in the Russian capital as well as the city's subway
   system.
   Moscow's  main  meteorological service Friday said temperatures soared
   to  36  degrees Celsius, breaking the previous record high for the day
   set in 1920.  Officials say it is the fifth temperature record set in
   Moscow this month.
   Some information for this report provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.

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