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Tuesday, 21.08.2007
Smog from burning peat moors smothers Moscow
Moscow. A sustained heat wave has set the peat moors east of Moscow alight, wreathing parts of the capital in smog. Poor visibility is blamed for pileups on an arterial highway.
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To the east of Moscow lie huge swathes of forests and peat moors that almost inevitably go up in smoke every summer. This August’s ongoing heat spell has made the resulting smog even worse than in previous years.
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Thick smog over the MAKS aviation show
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In the Shatura district, firefighters have been battling the burning peat for one and half weeks – in vain. Flames keep breaking out in new places. The Emergency Ministry with its modern BE200 firefighting planes has, however, not yet been called in.
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Zhukovsky airport, host to the international aviation show MAKS 2007, found itself wreathed in smog on Tuesday morning. Vladimir Loginovski, deputy director of the show, declared however that no peat fire, however big, would disrupt the scheduled exhibition flights.
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Accidents soar due to poor visibility
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While the pilots can rely on their electronics, on the ground the thick smog has claimed its first casualties. On the Moscow highway Don, leading out to the south, poor visibility caused a whole series of crashes. Two died, three were injured, and miles of tailback formed.
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Smoke is bad for your health
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The smog is not only a problem for car drivers. Russian health authorities have warned older citizens, diabetics and people suffering from heart or lung problems to be wary of both the smog and the heat, as more temperatures over 30°C are expected. Doctors advise to drink a lot of water and avoid the sun.
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The weather will hold until at least the end of the week, meaning an end to the smog is still not in sight. In previous summers, Moscovites have resorted to smog masks, and this might be the case again in the coming days.
(ab/.rufo/Moskau)
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