Russia: 'Very scary' - Yakutsk locals grapple with smog from forest fires

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Smog from forest fires raging in east Siberia filled the streets of Yakutsk on Thursday.

A local said that smoke interferes with life, and also strongly affects people’s health.

Another resident called the situation in the city “terrible and unpleasant,” adding that the smoke is especially harmful to older people.

Alena Evleeva, a local worker, said she was dismissed from work early because there is no air conditioning in her office and it is impossible to stay indoors in such smoke.

“It’s very hard. I’m walking right now and everything is watering in my eyes, everything is burning, this is a very sour feeling. I want to drip in my eyes. It’s hard to breathe, so I put on a mask, but it still smells very strong,” resident Yevgenia Tumusova shared.

Buildings of the city, cars and people could be seen shrouded in dense smoke, which also slows down the traffic as visibility is impaired.

At the moment, an excess of the maximum permissible concentrations of chemical substances in the air of Yakutsk has been recorded from 1,28 to 19,6 times by various indicators.

According to the Ministry of Emergency Situations, an emergency regime has been in effect in Yakutia since August 8.

As of July 1 residents are prohibited from visiting the forests.

SOUNDBITES:

SOT Vasily Krivoshapkin, resident of Yakutsk: “The smoke is very disturbing. Life is very bad like this. Today it [the smoke] has intensified. Yesterday and the day before yesterday there was no smoke, but it appeared again. Before that, a week ago, there would have been strong smoke too. This smoke, of course, has a strong effect on people’s health.”

SOT Mikhail Dmitryoglu, a resident of Yakutsk: “It’s hard to breathe, it’s hard to walk, it’s hard to go to work. The smoke is right next to the gate. It’s very scary, it’s very unpleasant, especially for older people. It’s very hard for them to breathe. One woman fell at a bus stop.”

SOT Alena Evleeva, a resident of Yakutsk: “There is no air conditioning at work, so they let me go early because it’s impossible even in an office building to be in such smoke. It’s hard to breathe, the pressure has dropped, so it’s hard.”

SOT Evgenia Tumusova, a resident of Yakutsk: “It’s very hard. I’m walking right now and everything is watering in my eyes, everything is burning, this is a very sour feeling. I want to drip in my eyes. It’s hard to breathe, so I put on a mask, but it still smells very strong.”

#Yakutsk #Russia

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