Russian President Putin worried about “unprecedented” natural disasters | science and planet

“The scale and nature of natural disasters in some regions is absolutely unparalleled,” a Kremlin resident said during a televised meeting with local leaders.

Putin called on his government to act “quickly and efficiently.” He called on local authorities to evacuate more people, provide emergency shelters and plan to rebuild homes quickly. The president also says he wants to do everything he can to prevent forest damage and animal deaths.

Putin spoke of two extremes in his country: torrential rains in southern Russia, where “it is now falling within a few hours of rain as much as a month”, and devastating wildfires in Siberia and the Far East, fueled by drought and harshness. “All this shows once again that we must commit ourselves to a climate and environmental program for the future,” the Russian president said.

Forest fires burn in Siberia every summer, but rising temperatures and increasing drought mean the fires are getting worse every year. Meanwhile, massive fires erupted in the vast area several months ago. In the Siberian Yakutia region, where a record number of fires began, the fire has now engulfed more than 9.4 million hectares of nature, an area larger than Portugal, according to the Russian Forestry Agency. Yakutia is sparsely populated, five times the size of France.

Despite the increase in the number of firefighters, there is no possibility of controlling the fire. There are a total of 252 fires. Rescue services focus on preventing 11 villages from burning. Several homes have already been destroyed by the fire. Villages and towns miles away from the fires have already been affected by the smoke.