Heatwaves Causing Major Wildfires in Russia | 11 May 2024
Russia's wildfire season, spanning eight regions since early March 2024 is expected to bring prolonged periods of "high" and "extreme" wildfire danger across most of the country this year, continuing a trend seen in previous years, such as the heatwaves in Siberia in 2019 and 2022 that led to devastating wildfires.
- Verkhoyansk, a town in the Sakha Republic or Yakutia, known as the ‘coldest inhabited place in the world,’ recorded a temperature of 38 degrees Celsius in June 2020,
likely the highest ever in the Arctic Circle region. - Multiple regions in Russia, including the Jewish Autonomous Region and Khabarovsk Territory are currently under a state of emergency due to widespread wildfires.
- The Russian Hydrometeorological Centre has predicted that much of Russia will face extended periods of "high" and "extreme" wildfire risk this year.