In the Yakutia region of Siberia in Russia, it has not been so hot and dry since 1888. Although Siberia has always had seasons of forest fires, the last two years have been extra intense, according to Sky News.
This year, the degree showed a full 39 degrees in Yakutia, with only 2 millimeters of rain throughout June.
– Recently, we have seen that forest fires have become more powerful and more frequent than usual in several places in the world, says atmosphere and climate researcher Marianne Tronstad Lund to Dagbladet.
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Voluntary effort
“We have damaged Mother Earth itself, and we have to deal with these problems ourselves,” Pavel Petrov, who is part of the forest protection service in Siberia, told Sky News.
The forest protection service has worked hard to try to keep the forest fire under control and coordinate the local efforts to deal with the fire.
Petrov tells Sky News that there have been two or three days where he has not slept at all. During the forest fire last year, he went a whole week without sleeping.
In the Siberian coniferous forest, where the forest fire is raging, there are many volunteers and firefighters who work to control the fire and clean up after the destruction. They get soup and tea before embarking on the next challenges that may arise, in a cloud of constant smoke, according to Sky News.
TIRED: This is a large area that firefighters and volunteers must keep in check, and try to put out the ravaging forest fire. Photo: Alexey Vasilyev / NTB
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Great challenge
– We have peat bogs and the forest is dense here, which is why the fire is spreading so fast, Petrov says.
With an active area of just over 2000 hectares in Yakutia alone, it offers great challenges for those who work to keep the fires under control. Each fire needs its own local strategy and a dedicated team of firefighters.
When wood burns wood, carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere. It also releases particles and other pollutants into the air, which can create poor air quality.
– Poor air quality in cities can have a detrimental health effect on the people who live there, Lund tells Dagbladet.
The forest fires are mostly triggered by lightning in the dry forests. Petrov tells Sky News that he once saw eight fires triggered by lightning in one day.
HOT: Volunteers are preparing to help put out the fire. Due to unusually high temperatures and drought, lightning strikes have created several forest fires. Photo: Ivan Nikiforov / NTB.
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Continental climate
In Siberia, there is a continental climate, ie a climate that is typical of the inner parts of large mainland areas. This means that, among other things, there is a moderate amount of precipitation, there are large daily temperature differences, hot summers and cold winters.
In the summer in Siberia it has normally been 30 degrees, while it has been down to minus 70 degrees in previous years. But this seems to be changing.
– We must adapt and prepare for more extreme weather in the future, says Lund.
