Russia declares emergency over huge wildfires in Siberia
8822 Mins Read
An area of 3.2 million hectares was engulfed by forest fires in remote regions of Russia on Monday and have continued to spread. In comparison, the total surface of the nation of Belgium is 3.07 million hectares.
With fires raging for days, immense clouds of smoke reached large population centers, including Russia’s third biggest city, Novosibirsk. Authorities declared emergencies in several regions.
Siberia regularly faces immense wildfires, but the impact this year had been boosted by strong wind and unusually dry weather. The blazes have been allowed to spread as cash-strapped local authorities usually ignore fires in remote regions.
A handout photo made available by NASA Earth Observatory of a natural-color satellite image showing wildfires burning across 11 regions of Russia amid a hot, dry summer, 21 July 2019 (issued 29 July 2019). In picture, note the distinct plumes stemming from fires on the right side. The largest fires were located in the regions of Irkutsk, Krasnoyarsk, and Buryatia. EPA-EFE/NASA EARTH OBSERVATORY HANDOUT
The fires are destroying permafrost north and south of the Arctic Circle as they burn through the tundra.
The Russian branch of the environmental group Greenpeace said the fires have “long ceased to be a local problem of the Siberian and Far Eastern regions” and they have “become an environmental disaster throughout the country.”
The Moscow Times reports local Russian authorities have the official right not to extinguish fires: A right they are keenly exercising as there is a lack of money and equipment at their disposal. Forests in Russia are plentiful whereas the economy is too weak to put out all the fires.
It adds that the authorities estimate the potential damage by calculating the minimum price of processable wood in the area that is burning (and if the wood is deemed unfit for processing, there is no recordable damage). In other words, according to these calculations, fires often cost almost nothing. However, every year, fires destroy 3 times more forest (3 million hectares) than the timber industry (1 million hectares).
