All this shows how important it is “in the future to engage deeply and systematically with the climate and environmental agenda,” the Russian president said.
Today, President Vladimir Putin expressed concern over natural disasters of “unprecedented” scale in Russia, which is facing devastating forest fires in Siberia and floods in the south, AFP and TASS reported.
“The scale and nature of natural disasters in some areas are absolutely unprecedented,” Putin said at a televised meeting. He called on the government to “act quickly and effectively” on environmental issues.
The Russian president pointed to torrential rains in the southern part of the country, where in just a few hours the amount reaches the usual monthly rainfall, as well as forest fires in Siberia and the Far East, aggravated by drought and spread by strong winds.
All this shows how important it is “in the future to engage deeply and systematically with the climate and environmental agenda,” Putin added.
Forest fires in Siberia have already devastated more than 16.6 million hectares, especially in Yakutia, a vast but sparsely populated area where smoke has covered cities, forcing authorities to declare a non-working day on Friday.
Russia’s Ministry of Civil Defense, Emergencies and Disaster Relief, which arrived in Yakutia on Thursday, said it had set up a center for special firefighting operations, fighting about 5,000 people.
The DPA reports that 9,000 rescuers are currently battling the blaze and that Putin has ordered their numbers to be increased.
Smoke from fires in Yakutia caused higher than normal levels of hydrogen sulfide as far as Chelyabinsk, 3,800 km southwest. NASA announced a week ago that this smoke has reached the North Pole, reminds AFP.
In southern Russia and Crimea, torrential rains have caused floods and the evacuation of hundreds of people, leaving nearly 100,000 people without electricity today.
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