Russia Battles 222 Forest Fires Amid Record-Breaking Heatwave

Russia's state forest agency is combating 222 forest fires across 20 regions, driven by an unusually hot summer. Emergency states have been declared in Yakutia and Zabaikalsky, with over 5,000 individuals engaged in fire suppression. Rising temperatures due to climate change contribute to increasingly severe fire seasons.

Russia's state forest agency announced on Thursday that it is currently battling 222 forest fires across 20 regions, spurred by an unusually hot summer. The Federal Forest Management Agency confirmed via a statement on Telegram that emergency states are in effect in Yakutia and Zabaikalsky due to the fires.

The agency reported that over 5,000 personnel are engaged in efforts to control the blazes across the country. Recent years have seen Russia facing increasingly severe forest fire seasons, attributed by experts to rising temperatures linked to climate change.

Earlier this month, emergency states were also declared in Yakutia and the Tuva region in Siberia as fires intensified. In Yakutia, a vast forested area the size of Texas, local reports indicate that fires have consumed over 930 hectares, nearing Belaya Gora, a village housing 2,000 residents. Officials in Yakutia state that fires in three districts are currently under emergency services' control.

(With inputs from agencies.)