Astana covered with smoke from Russian wildfires

Astana got covered with smog, Tengrinews.kz reports citing Director of Astana HydroMeteorological Monitoring Center Lyudmila Chuntonova. “This is called an atmospheric mist. Our neighbors in Russia have huge wildfires. Krasnoyarsk area, taiga, Tomsk forests are on fire and all this air mass comes to us. Despite of the fact that it was raining heavily in Astana yesterday, these particles did not get washed away from the atmosphere, as there is almost no mixing in the upper atmosphere layers. That’s why nothing has cleared off. Deterioration of visibility is registered at almost all monitoring post in Akmola oblast,” Chuntonova said. According to the expert, a bad smell that has spread around the city is caused by the content of the air mass coming from Russia: “Of course, there is carbon monoxide in it. Yesterday Tomsk had an excessive content of carbon monoxide that was 3 times over the maximum permissible concentration. We have less; the concentration that we have here is not dangerous for people, but there is a small risk for those suffering from chronic heart and respiratory diseases.” “Russian weather service made a forecast that the weather will not change in Tomsk until August 5. We will depend on the rain. The situation will improve if it rains,” she said. In their turn, the experts of Astana Emergency Situations Department advised Astana citizens and visitors to minimize going outside and stay aware from the city roads and international highways, as the smog affects visibility on the roads.