The total area of fires in Russia has exceeded 10 million hectares since the beginning of the year

In In Russia, forest fires cover more and more territories. Their total area already has a chance to exceed the norm, experts say. Which regions are covered by fire and what measures are being taken by the authorities-in the material of RBC

 The total area of fires in Russia has exceeded 10 million hectares since the beginning of the year

What is the scale of forest fires

According to the remote monitoring of the ISDM-Rosleskhoz system, the total area of forest fires in Russia since the beginning of this year has amounted to 10.2 million hectares, which is more than the territory of Latvia or Estonia. As of July 22, the area of active forest fires in Russia exceeded 785 thousand hectares, reported “Avialesohran”. In 2020 and 2019, forests burned on an area of 16.5 million hectares, in 2018-by 15.4 million hectares.

Every year, on average, about 15 million hectares of forest are burned out, Konstantin Kobyakov, chief coordinator of WWF Russia’s high conservation value forests projects, told RBC. “According to today’s data, it is absolutely clear that this year the area of fires will be higher than average. What has changed in recent years is that we don’t just sometimes have peaks when there are a lot of fires, but a lot burns every year, ” he noted.

This year is still on the fifth place since the beginning of the century in terms of the area of forest fires, the head of the forest department of Greenpeace Alexey Yaroshenko told RBC. According to him, there were more during this period only in 2003 (13.4 million hectares), in 2012 (13.1 million hectares), in 2008 (12.4 million hectares) and in 2018 (12.0 million hectares).

Where the forests are burning the most

Due to forest fires, an emergency regime has been introduced throughout the territory in three subjects: Yakutia, Karelia and the Chelyabinsk Region. In seven more regions (Vologda and Irkutsk Regions, Komi, Krasnoyarsk, Primorsky, Khabarovsk Territories, Chukotka Autonomous District), the emergency mode was introduced in certain areas.

The largest area of fires was recorded in Yakutia. According to the data of the Ministry of Ecology of the republic, there are now 227 wildfires in Yakutia, the total area of which was more than 1.5 million hectares. Forests burned in the national park “Lena pillars”, as well as in the nature reserve “Olekminsky”. Because of the fires in the capital of the Republic of Yakutsk, there wasan excess of the maximum permissible concentration (MPC) of air pollutants was recorded, and the authorities recommended that citizens minimize their presence on the street, tightly close doors and windows. Smoke and, as a result, poor visibility led to a temporary stop of ferries along the Lena and interruptions in air traffic.

Currently, there are 30 forest fires in Karelia on an area of almost 9 thousand hectares. Immediately in five districts of the republic, the area of forest fires exceeded the long-term average values, 637 residents were evacuated. A little less, almost 6 thousand hectares of fire, are recorded in the Khabarovsk Territory on July 22, chairman of the regional Forestry Committee Vadim Saburov told RBC. The northern part of the region was covered with smoke from Yakutia, residents felt the smell of burning.

In the Krasnoyarsk Territory, the area of active fires is 4.3 thousand hectares, the press service of the regional government told RBC, adding that all fires are located in remote and hard-to-reach territories. In a remote area that is difficult to reach, and fires in the Chukotka Autonomous District. There, the area covered by fires is 188 thousand hectares, the press service of the district government told RBC.

The fires also affected the Irkutsk and Chelyabinsk regions. In early July, in the Chelyabinsk region, the fire moved to two settlements-Jabyk and Spare. As a result, 72 buildings were burned, including 46 houses for permanent residence and 26 country houses. The body of one deceased was found in Jabyk, almost 20 residents needed medical assistance.

What factors contribute to the growth of the area of fires

The reason for the fires, the authorities of the regions call dry thunderstorms against the background of a multi-day abnormal heat. Fires are aggravated by severe drought, so the fire spreads faster. The head of Yakutia, Aisen Nikolaev, linked forest fires with global climate change & mdash; according to him, the average temperature in June was above 20 & ordm;C, while the average should be 15 & ordm;C.

WWF expert Konstantin Kobyakov also talks about climate change as a factor contributing to fires. “It is important that the number of adverse natural phenomena that can lead to fires is increasing,” these are droughts, periods with high temperatures, wind strength. Since the risks are higher, the number of fires is also growing, ” he said. But the key cause of wildfires lies in the actions of a person and in his careless handling of fire, Kobyakov emphasizes.

The increased risks of fires require increased attention to fire work, the expert is sure. According to him, in the new conditions, fire work does not change fundamentally and remains underfunded. “The number of aviation security services is growing slightly, the number is being added, a new center is planned to open. But this rather allows you to stay at the same level, but not radically change the situation, ” he concluded.

What are the authorities doing

Planes of the Ministry of Emergency Situations and the Ministry of Defense help to eliminate fires in Yakutia. The aviation of the Ministry of Emergency Situations has been involved in extinguishing since July 1, now there are 13 units of federal aircraft on the territory of the republic-these are IL-76, BE-200, MI-8 helicopters. To fight forest fires, firefighters are also used by aircraft, which are thrown into inaccessible areas. In three regions of Yakutia, “Air Security” caused artificial rains, for which a special An-26 “Cyclone” sounding aircraft was used.

In the Chelyabinsk Region, 4,389 people and 1,883 units of equipment are connected to extinguishing forest fires, the press service of the region told RBC. The press service of the Krasnoyarsk Territory told RBC that since the end of June, additional forces have been mobilized in the region for rapid response: more than 270 forest special forces fighters have been deployed to areas where the situation may become more complicated, two new aviation refueling points have been organized. In 2021, the total amount of funding for the detection and extinguishing of forest fires in the Krasnoyarsk Territory is about 1.5 billion rubles, the press service of the region added.

A forest fire center is being created in the region on the basis of Cheremshanka Airport, which will promptly respond to fires in the Far East and Siberia, Minister of Natural Resources and Ecology Alexander Kozlov told reporters. According to him, the center “North” has already started recruiting paratroopers, it is planned to purchase 112 units of specialized equipment and more than 1800 units of fire equipment and equipment.

About 900 people were involved in extinguishing fires in Karelia, as well as 31 people from the Arkhangelsk and Murmansk regions and 160 units of equipment. Aviation patrols of forests are conducted daily, and a gathering of volunteers who want to help in the elimination of forest fires has also been announced.

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