On Saturday, August 14, President Vladimir Putin expressed concern over a series of natural disasters affecting Russia. “The extent and nature of natural disasters in some areas are absolutely unprecedented.”Putin told a televised meeting that he had asked the government “Work fast and efficiently” In the context of environmental issues.

The Russian president cited a similar example of heavy rain in the south of the country “Monthly rainfall is now declining in a few hours”, Wildfires in Siberia and the Far East are exacerbated by drought and spread by strong winds.

“All of this shows once again how important it is to have a deep and systematic future engagement with the climate and environmental agenda.”, The Russian president insisted.

IPCC Alarm Bell

Wildfires in Siberia have already destroyed more than 16.6 million hectares, especially in the Republic of Sakha (formerly Yakutia). The area, which is spacious but sparsely populated, was filled with smoke towns, forcing authorities to declare a public holiday on Friday. The Russian Ministry of Emergency Situations, which arrived in the Comrades’ Republic on Thursday, announced the establishment of a special operation center to deal with the fire, which is being fought by about 5,000 people.

Smoke from the fires in the Sakha Republic is higher than normal levels of hydrogen sulfide, up to 3,800 km southwest of Chelyabinsk. The U.S. space agency, NASA, reported smoke from the North Pole.

In southern Russia and Crimea, heavy rains caused flooding and evacuation of hundreds of people, while about 100,000 people were left without electricity on Saturday.

In early August, the UN Meteorological Agency (IPCC) issued a warning Climate change This accelerates the fact that humans have no choice but to drastically reduce greenhouse gas emissions if they want to limit the damage. Russia, one of the signatories to the Paris Climate Agreement, has unveiled a new plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to COP26, which will take place in Glasgow in November, but not as ambitiously as before.