Moscow shrouded in blanket of smog
A thick blanket of acrid smoke from forest and peat bog fires hung over the Russian capital today, obscuring from view some of Moscow’s most famous landmarks and raising the carbon monoxide level as much as 2.7 times above normal.
Tourists visiting Red Square held paper masks over their mouths, and struggled to make out the Kremlin’s golden cupolas through the fog-like smoke.
Muscovites have been coping with the smoke for much of the summer, but the smog level rose markedly on Thursday. A light rain on Friday helped clear the air slightly, but the smoke thickened again and Muscovites awoke this morning to a shrouded city.
The carbon monoxide level today reached 2.5 times the maximum admissible concentration in central Moscow, 2.7 times greater in the northeast and less than two times greater in other districts, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
As many as 185 peat bog and forest fires are still burning around the city, Interfax news agency reported.
A spokesman for the Emergency Situations Ministry said he expected the situation to significantly improve by Tuesday due to a drop in temperature and a change in wind direction.
Russian media have reported that the smog is at its highest levels in 30 years.
