Wildfire Pictures: Russia Burns, Moscow Chokes

Wildfire Pictures: Russia Burns, Moscow Chokes

10 August 2010

published by news.nationalgeographic.com

Russia — About 111 miles (180 kilometers) southeast of Moscow, locals try to extinguish a forest fire near the village of Dolginino, Russia, last Wednesday.

As of Tuesday, professional firefighters were combating 557 wildfires over a 670-square-mile (1,740-square-kilometer), Russia’s Emergencies Ministry said, according to Reuters.

The fires are stoked by an ongoing drought and the worst heat wave in Russian memory. Around Moscow, choked with fire-related smog, temperatures have hovered around 100 degrees F (38 degrees C) for weeks and show no sign of letting up soon, according to the Bloomberg news agency.