Acrid smoke blankets Moscow as wildfires continue

Russian health officials say the levels of toxic gases in the air in Moscow is five times higher than the maximum level acceptable for public health, as residents don sanitary masks and rush to leave the capital for the weekend.

Reuters

Spreading wildfires is causing an acrid smog to blanket Moscow in Russia’s worst heatwave for decades. Russian officials warn that fires in central Russia will continue for the next days.

In Moscow, drivers have been putting on their headlamps in broad daylight to see through the haze and the capital’s landmarks, the Kremlin and the golden church cupolas, are barely visible through a layer of smoke.

"I woke up this morning, looked out of the window and saw a monstrous situation," declared President Dmitry Medvedev. "We all want this heatwave to pass but this is not in our hands, it is decided above."

Residents have been advised to leave the capital for the weekend, sparking a rush for seats on trains and planes leaving the capital. Package tours abroad are completely sold out.

With the wildfires showing no sign of abetting, Russian authorities are monitoring military installations closely. Russia’s main nuclear research centre is in the closed city if Sarov, one of the areas worst hit by the blazes.

Authorities are also watching the situation in the region of Bryansk in western Russia, where the soils are still contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster.

On Saturday, the death toll of the fires stood at 52, the health ministry said.