Forest Fires Choke Russian Permafrost Territories

Russia’s largest territory, used to be known as the Kingdom of Permafrost is turning into the Capital of Wildfires with this summer catastrophic forest infernos engulfing two million hectares of territory, according to the Siberian Times. 

Residents of Yakutsk, the world’s largest city built on permafrost, have spent weeks suffocating in poisonous smog brought by the fires. People living in settlements east, west and north of the capital complain of struggling to breathe.

Several fire-extinguishing planes could not take off from the Mirny airdrome in the west of Yakutia due to low visibility. More than two thousand people are working on fighting the fires in the Republic, the local government said. 

The first wildfires were recorded as early as 4 May 2021. 

The situation got significantly worse during June, which was also the hottest and the driest month in Yakutia since records began at the end of the 19th century.