Russia Is Burning

[filkertom]

Tragic beyond belief:

Deaths in Moscow have doubled to an average of 700 people a day as the Russian capital is engulfed by poisonous smog from wildfires and a sweltering heat wave, a top health official said Monday.

Moscow health chief Andrei Seltsovky blamed weeks of unprecedented heat and suffocating smog for the rise in mortality compared to the same time last year, Russian news agencies reported. He said city morgues were nearly overflowing, filled with 1,300 bodies, close to their capacity.

Acrid smog blanketed Moscow for a six straight day Monday, with concentrations of carbon monoxide and other poisonous substances two to three times higher than what is considered safe. Those airborne pollutants reached a record over the weekend — exceeding the safe limit by nearly seven times.

About 550 separate blazes were burning nationwide Monday, mainly across western Russia, including about 40 around Moscow, according to the Emergencies Ministry. Forest and peat bog fires have been triggered by the most intense heat wave in 130 years of record keeping.

Alexander Frolov, head of Russia's weather service, said judging by historic documents, this heat wave could be the worst in up to 1,000 years.

As is usual on Yahoo, the comments are a mix of rational voices and nuckin futbars, but there is one I thought was particularly telling:

For all the people talking crap, you may not have noticed but there is only one atmosphere on this planet. Not only is deforestation a problem for the entire planet, do you this this smoke is going to stay in one place?

Comments

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

As the American Lung Association says, "If you can't breathe, nothing else matters."

I work in air pollution control. I was unaware of this story until this morning (apparently missed it online and haven't seen TV news all weekend). This truly sounds like a tragedy. No, smoke doesn't stay in one place. Apparently there are also wildfires in Ontario, Canada, so the US Northeast will probably be affected by those. Air moves all around the globe; studies have shown that pollution from China sometimes affects the United States.

Okay, off my professional soap box now.

[lizziecrowe.livejournal.com]

Are you kidding?? THANK YOU for your professional soapbox, and thank you for sharing your thoughts. It's always good to hear from someone in the field who knows what they're talking about, no matter the subject.

[infinitemorning.livejournal.com]

Russia has also been trying to conceal the scale of the problem. I read today that Russian doctors are afraid to diagnose people with problems related to smoke inhalation for fear of losing their jobs.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

And there was a story the other day in which a doctor said something like, "Foreigners should not avoid Russia. It's safe (as long as you use a gas mask)".