Unprecedented heat wave in Siberia, Greenpeace is alarmed
Firefighters work to extinguish a forest fire near the village of Magaras in the Yakutia region of Russia on July 17, 2021. REUTERS - ROMAN KUTUKOV
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2 min
For several months, Siberia has experienced an exceptional heat wave.
According to Greenpeace, an area larger than that of Greece went up in smoke between January and mid-July.
The opportunity for the NGO to demand concrete measures from the government to act on global warming.
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With our correspondent in Moscow,
Jean-Didier Revoin
In Siberia and even in the Russian Far East, the hectares of forest and tundra that go up in smoke number in the millions.
Based on satellite images, Greenpeace estimates that there are 19 million, an area larger than that of Greece.
The NGO attributes the origin of these fires to heat flashes caused by the abnormally high temperatures in the region.
The situation is currently particularly difficult in Yakutia, in the far east of Russia, where smoke overhangs Yakutsk, complicating the daily life of the inhabitants of this regional capital.
48 degrees on the ground
At the end of June, in Verkhoyansk, in the northeast of Siberia, temperatures were above 37 degrees in the shade, for 48 degrees listed on the ground.
Temperatures that cause the permafrost to melt, this land that once remained frozen throughout the year, and lead to landslides, building collapses or the release of gases contained in the ground.
All these reasons lead supporters of the fight against climate change to demand an increased mobilization of the authorities on this issue.
Global warming is twice as fast in Russia as in the rest of the world, three times beyond the Arctic Circle.
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To read also:
Heat wave in Moscow: "If I could stay all day in the shower, I would"
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