2010 Russian wildfires
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2010 Russian wildfires | |
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Date(s) | late July 2010 – early September 2010 |
Location | Russia[1] |
Statistics | |
Burned area | 300,000 hectares (740,000 acres)[2] |
Land use | villages, farmland, woodlands |
Impacts | |
Deaths | 54 in wildfires 55,736 in heat wave[3] |
Structures destroyed | 2,000 |
The 2010 Russian wildfires were several hundred
Russian
A combination of the smoke from the fires, producing heavy
Prelude
During 2010 Russia experienced dry, hot weather starting around late May and lasting until early June. Temperatures of 35 °C (95 °F) first occurred after 12 June, which alone was an abnormality for the country (average mid-June temperatures seldom rise above 30 °C (86 °F)). In late June, Russian regions such as the Eurasian Sakha Republic, as well as areas of partial taiga, had temperatures of 38–40 °C (100–104 °F). The warm ridging pattern then slowly moved westward to the Ural Mountains, and by July settled in European Russia.
On 25 June a new temperature record was set in the Asian portion of Russia, at Belogorsk, Amur Oblast, at 42.3 °C (108.1 °F). The previous record in the Asian portion was 41.7 °C (107.1 °F) at Aksha on 21 July 2004. A new record for the highest nationwide temperature in Russia was set on 11 July, at 44 °C (111 °F), in Yashkul, Kalmykia (in the European portion), beating the previous record of 43.8 °C (110.8 °F) set on 6 August 1940, in Kalmykia.[9]
Average temperatures in the region increased to over 35 °C (95 °F). The mean high for European Russia recorded on 26 July reached 40 °C (104 °F) during the day. During July 2010, a large portion of European Russia was more than 7 °C (12.6 °F) warmer than normal.[10]
According to the director of the Global Fire Monitoring Centre (GFMC) Johann Goldammer, the wildfires were caused by "negligent [human] behaviour", such as lighting barbecues and fireworks in a densely wooded area.[11] Such human activity, coupled with the unusually high temperatures over the Russian territories, catalyzed this record disturbance.
Timeline
29 July
Peat fires causing significant loss of properties and an unverified number of human fatalities started in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, the Voronezh Oblast, Moscow Oblast, Ryazan Oblast and across central and western Russia due to unseasonably hot weather.[12]
31 July
The head of
1 August
On 1 August 2010, the area of the forest fires was 114,000 ha (1,140 km2).[15] The Central Regional Center MOE Russia website reported that in Moscow Oblast 130 foci of natural fires were detected, covering the area of 880 hectares. Of those, 67 fires covered an area of 178 hectares.[6]
2 August
According to "
Moscow on Monday was covered in smoke, with reduced road visibility.[6] On Monday, 2 August 2010, Vladimir Putin scheduled a meeting with the Governors of Voronezh, Novgorod, Samara, Moscow, Ryazan, and Vladimir Oblasts, as well as the Head of the Republic of Mordovia.[6]
4 August
By 4 August, the wildfires were still burning over 188,525 ha (1,885.25 km2), with a death toll of at least 48. Some fires burned in areas near the nuclear research center in Sarov. However Rosatom head Sergey Kiriyenko dismissed apprehension of an atomic explosion.[16]
President
Medvedev sacked some of his senior navy officers after one fire destroyed Russian navy equipment.[21][22] The officers were accused of "incomplete professional responsibility" after several buildings were allowed to burn down and vehicles and equipment destroyed.[23] He suggested anyone who had neglected their duties would be prosecuted.[24] On the same day it was reported that another fire was approaching a major secret nuclear research facility in the city of Sarov.[23]
Environmental groups, such as the WWF, and "non-systemic" opposition politicians suggested firefighting has been slowed down by the Forest Code law passed by the Duma in 2006 at the order of Putin.[25] The legislation transferred responsibility for the country's vast woodlands to regional authorities, putting 70,000 forestry guards out of work.[26]
5 August
According to the Emergencies Ministry, there were 843 reported outbreaks of fires, including 47 peat fires. There were 73 large fires.[27] The fires threatened an animal sanctuary for over 1,800 animals, including dogs and retired circus animals. Almost 600 fires were still burning in the country, and around 2,000 homes had been destroyed. The President fired several high-ranking military officials after fires burned through a secret military base.[28]
6 August
According to the Emergencies Ministry, there were registered 831 fires, including 42 peat fires. 80 large fires were registered in an area of 150,800 ha (1,508 km2).
According to the State environmental agency "Mosekomonitoring", in the morning in Moscow, the maximum concentration of carbon monoxide in the air exceeded the acceptable norm by 3.6 times, the content of suspended particles by 2.8 times, and specific hydrocarbons by 1.5 times. The Moscow airports of
An international
According to the
7 August
Emergency officials registered 853 outbreaks of fire by 7 August, including 32
In Moscow, by noon the concentration of airborne pollutants intensified and reached at 6.6 times normal level for carbon monoxide, and 2.2 times for suspended particulate matter.[38] Seven flights heading for Domodedovo and Vnukovo airports were redirected to alternative airfields.[39] The temperature may have reached 40 °C (104 °F) in Moscow Oblast.[40] At Sheremetyevo International Airport, visibility was reduced to 325 meters.[10]
8 August
Smoke from fires in the Novgorod region travel north, arriving in Saint Petersburg.[41]
10 August
Early in the afternoon of 10 August
12 August
With the number of fires being reduced from 612 to 562, the skies over Moscow were mostly clear on 12 August, giving the city a much needed break from the devastating smog. Residents in the city told reporters that they were overjoyed with the suddenly improved air; most of whom stopped wearing their masks as the air was safe to breathe. However, forecasts indicated that a shift in the winds was likely to occur in the coming days, likely bringing the smog back into Moscow.[43] Reports indicated that roughly 80,000 hectares of land were still burning.[44]
Press reports stated that a preliminary estimate of damage to the Russian economy as a result of the fires was €11.4 billion ($15 billion).[45]
13 August
After weeks without rain, heavy downpours soaked Moscow and nearby areas, bringing further relief to the extended heat wave. However, in Sarov, about 480 kilometres (300 mi) east of Moscow, a new fire started near the country's top nuclear research center. Earlier in August, radioactive and explosive materials were moved out of the facility due to the threat of fires; however, they were later returned when the threat lessened.[46] Over 3,400 firefighters were battling the blaze and were being assisted by a special firefighting train.[47]
2 September
A new wave of wildfires flared up in Russia in September, killing at least 8 people and destroying nearly 900 buildings.[citation needed]
Public health effects
Deaths in Moscow averaged 700 a day, about twice the usual number.[48][49] The heat wave is believed to have been unprecedented in Russian history,[48] and killed 55,736 people, according to the Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters.[50]
Fires have affected areas contaminated by the
International assistance and response
Russia received assistance in extinguishing the fires from China,[53] Serbia,[54][55] Italy,[56] Ukraine,[57] Belarus, Armenia, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, Poland,[58] Lithuania,[59] Iran,[60] Estonia,[61] Uzbekistan,[62] Venezuela,[63] France,[64] Germany,[65] Latvia[66] and Finland[67]
Many diplomats and a number of embassies temporarily closed, among them those of Austria, Canada, Germany, Poland and Norway.[68] On its website, the United States Department of State advised Americans traveling to Moscow and surrounding areas should "carefully consider" their plans because of "hazardous levels of air pollution" and "numerous flight delays". Italy's Foreign Ministry advised people to "postpone any travel plans to Moscow that aren't strictly necessary".[citation needed]
Volunteer efforts
Volunteers took part in firefighting and helping those affected by the fires. In some cases, informal help was faster and more effective than official help.[69][70] Volunteers bought and transported fire suppression materials, chainsaws, engine-driven water pumps, respirators, food, soap, and drinking water. Volunteer coordination happened via LiveJournal communities, the main one being pozar_ru.[71] There is also a website Russian-fires.ru working on Ushahidi platform that was used at Haiti and Chile earthquakes to coordinate volunteers.[72][73]
Volunteer casualties
One volunteer died in action in the Lukhovitsy District on 29 July 2010; the body was found on 15 August 2010.[75] Another volunteer died in Mordovia from carbon monoxide poisoning on 4 August 2010; the body was found by Police patrol days later.[76] Another volunteer died in a car crash in the Shatursky District on 14 August 2010.[77]
Censorship
Local Russian commercial and governmental mass media did not provide real-time information for the general public. In the case of a fast-moving wildfire there would be no chance to inform people via mass media about emergency evacuation. Furthermore, there was no official of Medvedev's administration personally responsible for providing emergency information of this kind.[78]
In a piece under his byline on the
State-controlled television revealed as little information as possible to the public about the fires and smog. Its primary goal was to prevent panic. This eerily reminded me of how the Soviet government reacted to the Chernobyl explosion in April 1986. In a similar manner, the authorities withheld information about the extent of the nuclear fallout to "avoid panic".[79]
In some cases, no information about villages affected by wildfire was available for two weeks.[80] Doctors from several medical institutions in Moscow, interviewed by an Interfax correspondent, acknowledged that medical professionals were now forbidden to make a diagnosis of "thermal shock".[81]
According to a
Government Radio Mayak broadcast on 13 August:
Vice-minister of Ministry of Emergency Situations Alexander Chupriyan said on Friday (13 August 2010) that the peat fires were extinguished completely in the Noginsk, Kolomna, Pavlovsky Posad and Orekhovo-Zuyevo areas near Moscow.[83]
A volunteer wrote about the same events on 13 August 2010 in the Orekhovo-Zuyevo area in his blog:
I have never seen such...Along the roads—the burned forest. Here and there still smoldering, smoking. The road blocks smoke. What you saw in Moscow — it is nothing you have seen.[84]
Independent radio РСН on 14 August:
The MOE said that nothing is burning...TV show that nothing is burning...Civilians forced to buy fire equipment for firemen ... I saw open fire at Orekhovo-Zuyevo area.[85]
Another volunteer wrote about the events on 15 August 2010 in the same Orekhovo-Zuyevo area in his blog:
The situation in Orekhovo is stable, i.e. a stable grassroots fire.[86]
Russian policies
The
Government officials said they could not have anticipated the heatwave, but critics blamed complacent officials for ignoring warnings of blazes near villages.[88] Sergey Robaten, Vadim Tatur, and Maksim Kalashnikov argued that the fires and the inability to contain and extinguish them was due to "the inaction of bureaucrats" and Putin's changing of how the Russian State Fire Service functions in 2001. Putin had transferred responsibility for fighting fires to those renting state property and the subjects of the federation, with the assumption that owners or renters would invest in whatever was necessary to prevent forest fires. However, the reality was more complex; Russian companies were seeking to turn a quick profit and thus neglected forest firefighting. Putin's spokesman remarked, "this is a well-functioning system which only needs some minor adjustments".[89][90]
See also
- Similar disasters
- Weather and climate
References
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- ^ Centre for Research on the Epidemiology of Disasters
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- ^ Србија понудила помоћ Русији у гашењу пожара
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- ^ К тушению природных пожаров приступили два итальянских экипажа Р-180, а также вертолет Ми-171т. республики Казахстан. Archived 10 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (By fighting wildland fires started by two Italian F-180 crew, as well as Mi-171t. Republic of Kazakhstan., 7 August 2010)
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- ^ Главное — решение об организации в Колионово перевалочного пункта гуманной помощи для погорельцев оказалось правильным. Archived 21 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine (The decision to organize in Kolionovo staging point for humanitarian aid to victims of the fire proved correct ... in the Beloomut club all rooms littered with mountains of old clothes and shoes. It is not demand. People are grateful, but ask not to bring.)
- ^ Про будни и про рядовой караул пожарной части Archived 21 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine(About firehouse's weekdays and common guard ... They asked about the gloves and mittens ...These people now day after day are at the front of the fire fighting. Several people were killed. Payments of insurance in this case — 36 thousand rubles.)
- ^ Пожар_ру. Благотворительная помощь пострадавшим от пожаров в России Archived 7 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine (Pozhar_ru. Charitable aid to victims of fires in Russia)
- ^ Карта Помощи пострадавшим от лесных пожаров 2010 в России (Help Map for victims of the 2010 forest fires in Russia)
- ^ Карта Помощи. Help Map
- ^ "Volunteers Take Fires Into Own Hands" by Maria Antonova, The Moscow Times, 17 August 2010
- LifeNews.
- ^ Вести.Ru: В Мордовии при тушении лесного пожара погиб доброволец one volunteer died in Mordovia, while extinguishing a forest fire
- ^ Погибла Самоварщикова Ольга (in Russian) Archived 19 August 2010 at the Wayback Machine
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- ^ "Putin's Vertical Power Disaster" by Georgy Bovt, The Moscow Times, 13 August 2010
- ^ О сгоревшей деревне Александровке узнали только спустя 2 недели (in Russian)
- ^ В Москве врачам запретили ставить диагноз "тепловой удар" (in Russian)
- ^ Какому источнику информации о пожарах в Центральной России Вы больше доверяете? "Which source of information about fires in central Russia you most trust?", 4 August 2010
- ^ 14 August 2010 11:55 "радио "Маяк" Помощь добровольцев для тушения пожаров больше не требуется Archived 28 September 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Пока сделали два рейса. "Я такого никогда не видел ..." (с) Вдоль дорог — сгоревший лес. Кое-где еще тлеет, дымится. Периодически дорогу перекрывает дым. То, что вы видели в Москве — это вы ничего не видели. Archived 14 August 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Radio РСН Игорь Черский и позвонившие в эфир волонтеры — о ситуации на местах — РСН, 14 августа Igor Cherskii and callers on the air volunteer information about the situation on the ground (in Russian)
- ^ Новости из Орехово-Зуево, News from Orekhovo-Zuyevo 15 August 2010
- ^ a b Serghey Stelmakovich. "Russia institutes peat fire prevention program". Archived from the original on 18 June 2010. Retrieved 9 August 2010.
- ^ Tom Parfitt in Moscow (6 August 2010). "Smoke from Russian fires blankets Moscow". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on 16 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Goble, Paul. "Putin's Destruction Of Forest Service In 2007 Behind Russia's Current Fire Disaster". Eurasiareview.com. Archived from the original on 22 August 2010. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
- ^ Bryanski, Gleb (4 August 2010). "Opposition says Putin law cripples Russia fire-fighting". Reuters. Retrieved 10 August 2010.
External links
- The Russian Heat Wave of 2010, NOAA
- Natural Variability Main Culprit of Deadly Russian Heat Wave That Killed Thousands, NOAA – 9 March 2011
- Heatwave in Russia – Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Carbon Monoxide over Western Russia – Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Fires in Eastern Siberia – Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Smoke over Western Russia – Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Smoke over Moscow – Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Fires and Smoke in Russia – Earth Observatory (NASA)
- Moscow: Covered in Smoke Archived 15 August 2010 at the Life magazine
- Force Majeure: Wildfires in Russia by Emile Hirsch