More than a million hectares burning in Siberian forest

More than 130 individual fires are currently raging in the region, with about 2000 people engaged in firefighting efforts on the ground and in the air, the Civil Defence Ministry in the capital Yakutsk reported.  

The ministry also released a video of a firefighting plane dropping tons of water over the burning forests.  

The Civil Defence Ministry's report stated that 52 localities were struggling with smoke from the fires.  

Air samples were being taken, and in two cities and two villages, the limits had been exceeded, the report said. However, it noted that there had been no known cases of smoke poisoning so far.  

Due to the forest fires, a state of emergency has been in place in the region in north-eastern Russia for weeks. Fires are also raging in many other regions of the world's largest country by area.  

The widespread forest and wildfires in the Arctic region have resulted in significant smoke development over the past few weeks, enveloping several cities in thick smoke. 

Russia fights fires every year, which destroy large areas of forest and steppe.  

The Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service (CAMS) of the European Union attributes the extensive wildfires in the Russian republic of Sakha to significantly higher temperatures and lower-than-usual precipitation levels in the region. 

Copernicus data indicates that temperatures in the affected areas are up to 7 degrees Celsius higher than the long-term average from 1991 to 2020, accompanied by severe dryness. 

The Russian forest fire fighting unit has warned that dry thunderstorms could ignite new wildfires. The flames are also spreading rapidly due to strong winds and a lack of precipitation.  

In particularly remote and inaccessible regions, firefighting efforts are often limited due to personnel constraints and high costs. 

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Australian Associated Press