On Tuesday, Moscow, the Russian capital, experienced its highest temperature in 134 years, according to authorities. The TASS news agency reported that the temperature reached +32 degrees Celsius. Roman Vilfand, the scientific director of the Russian Meteorological Center, noted that the last time Moscow saw a temperature of +31.9 degrees was on July 2, 1890. Temperatures across Russian cities have been rising, sometimes exceeding 35 degrees Celsius in recent times.
Due to the intense heat, summer wildfires have spread, leading to a state of emergency being declared in two Russian regions on July 1. The governor of the remote Siberian region of Tuva stated that this decision was made due to forest fires caused by extreme heat, strong winds, and dry thunderstorms. Vladislav Khovalyg, the head of the Tuva region, reported on Telegram that 23 forest fires have been registered, covering about 1,700 hectares, with most located in inaccessible mountainous areas.
Weather forecasters anticipate a slight cooling in the coming days, with rain expected in some parts of the region. However, Khovalyg emphasized that July is expected to be the most challenging month for fire management, and efforts must be made to protect every hectare of forest. In Russia’s Far East, a federal state of emergency was declared in the Republic of Sakha (Yakutia), where 107 wildfires have been registered on over 331,000 hectares. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations is monitoring the situation using drones.
