"An increased fire hazard also awaits the Yaroslavl, Astrakhan, Orenburg regions and a number of other regions," TASS quoted Vilfand as saying.
According to his forecast, the risk of natural fires in the near future will be observed in the Kostroma, Yaroslavl, Astrakhan, Orenburg regions, the republics of Kalmykia, Tatarstan, Mordovia, Chuvashia, Udmurtia and Bashkortostan.
Earlier, he commented on the abnormal heat in the European part of Russia.