MOSCOW — Russia’s army sent firefighting planes on Tuesday to battle huge wildfires that have blanketed Siberian towns in thick smoke as residents complain of being suffocated in a region known for its frozen tundra that is now sweltering under a heatwave.
With flames tearing across some 800,000 hectares of Russian forest, the hardest-hit region of Yakutia in the north has been in a state of emergency for weeks as climate scientists sound the alarm about the potential long-term impact.
Fires in Russia’s central Chelyabinsk region, meanwhile, last week killed one man and destroyed dozens of village homes.
“We’re suffocating, our lungs are being poisoned b…
Keep on reading: Planes dump water on Siberian wildfires as residents plead for help