Smog shrouds buildings, slows traffic around Russia

MOSCOW -- Smog shrouded buildings, cars crawled on highways and pedestrians pressed wet handkerchiefs to their mouths Thursday as smoke from forest and peat bog fires in the region filled Moscow, seeping even into the subway.

The area has registered its lowest rainfall in a century, Russian media reported, and the smog was at the highest level in 30 years.

Muscovites have awakened to the acrid smell of smoke for much of the summer, but the smog level rose markedly on Thursday, cutting visibility to just hundreds of yards in much of the Russian capital.

The sun shone pink through the haze, and gray smog filled houses, offices and even the subway.

The carbon monoxide level is more than twice the maximum admissible concentration, the Emergency Situations Ministry said, and Russian media said the level could be up to four times the norm.

A heavy retaining layer of air has settled over the city, trapping the smoke, the Interfax news agency reported, citing both Moscow and regional weather experts.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said the fires had doubled in size over the last 24 hours to 1,360 acres, Interfax reported. There are five large blazes and 188 smaller fires in the region surrounding Moscow -- many of them below ground in smoldering peat bogs -- and almost 900 fires, including 200 large ones burning across western Russia.

The northern port of St. Petersburg was likewise blanketed by smog, as emergency officials fought more than 240 fires in the surrounding region.

Far-reaching haze

The haze from the fires even reached Thursday to southeastern Finland, where officials in the town of Lappeenranta, six miles from the Russian border, reported a strong smell of smoke. Finnish border guards earlier helped battle the flames after a request from Russian officials.

Boris Gromov, governor of the region surrounding the capital, asked Prime Minister Mikhail Kasyanov for more money to buy equipment to fight the fires, the ITAR-Tass news agency reported. Kasyanov later issued an order saying more manpower and equipment must be used, Interfax reported.

The Emergency Situations Ministry had to ground its firefighting helicopters and planes in the Moscow region because of the low visibility, but the aircraft were deployed later in the day. Firefighting trains were also sent out to extinguish blazes along railroad tracks, ITAR-Tass reported.

Operations at Moscow's three airports were affected by the smoke earlier in the day but were returning to normal operations by Thursday afternoon. Domodyedovo closed to takeoffs and landings for 5 1-2 hours, flights at Vnukovo were delayed and Sheremetyevo put into place special safety procedures for flights landing in the morning, Interfax said.