Forest fires continue to spread in Siberia and the far east of Russia. In part, the municipalities forego fire fighting because of the high costs. The temperature development since the beginning of the year worries scientists.
In Russia, forest fires continue to spread in large parts of Siberia and in the far east. According to the Interfax news agency, citing authorities, a state of emergency was declared in three regions of the Magadan region on the Sea of Okhotsk.
As the state forest service announced, an area of more than one million hectares is burning. This is more than the size of Cyprus. The Republic of Yakutia in the Far Eastern part of Siberia was particularly affected. There is great heat and drought.
Deleting is often too expensive
The regional government in Magadan cited thunderstorms and lightning as the reason for the fires. The heat and strong winds made extinguishing difficult. There are seven forest fires in the region alone.
However, there is no immediate danger to people because most forest fires are far outside of inhabited areas. According to the authorities, the extinguishing work was stopped in many places. The economic damage is less than the costs for the use of personnel, technology and water.
In addition, the financial situation of municipal budgets is tense due to the high additional social expenditure resulting from the corona pandemic. Nevertheless, according to the authorities, there are more than 3,000 helpers and 43 fire-fighting planes.
38 degrees in Werkoyansk?
The current heat wave in the arctic regions of Russia alarms scientists. The United Nations World Weather Organization (WMO) is reviewing reports of a possible heat record in the Arctic. Last Saturday, 38 degrees Celsius are said to have been reached in the city of Werkoyansk.
The Arctic is one of the regions most affected by global warming, according to the WMO. In north-central Siberia, the temperatures from January to May were on average eight degrees Celsius above the usual average, as calculated by the US facility Berkely Earth, which specializes in climate data analysis.
There were also large fires in Siberia last year. At that time, according to Greenpeace estimates, 150,000 square kilometers burned down, an area more than twice the size of Bavaria. For weeks, people in many Siberian estates suffered from toxic smoke.
