Wildfires and heat-wave in the Russian Federation: situation report, 18 August 2010
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World Health Organization. Regional Office for Europe
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Wildfires that started in mid-July 2010 in the Central and Volga federal districts of the Russian Federation produced a dense plume of smoke over hundreds of kilometres, a situation aggravated by the continuing heat-wave. According to the Ministry of Health and Social Development of the Russian Federation, on 11 August 2010 fires were active in 22 regions of the country, had killed 53 people and had caused particularly difficult situations in the Belgorod, Voronezh, Ivanovo, Lipetsk, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Ryazan and Tambov regions and in Mordovia and Chuvashia. Close to the fires, smoke is a health risk because it contains small particles that can irritate the eyes and respiratory system and hazardous gases. Data from parts of the Moscow city air quality monitoring network in early August indicate that particulate matter (PM10) levels significantly exceed safe levels indicated in the WHO guidelines for outdoor and indoor air quality. Rospotrebnadzor, the Russian Agency for Consumer Rights and Human Well-being, warns that there is a significant excess of pollutants in the air, such as nitrogen dioxide, carbon monoxide and sulfur dioxide, in several regions.