Heat and haze continue to torture Moscow region

To all appearances, the first day of the last summer month does not promise any relief to Moscow and the Moscow Region which are exhausted by tropical temperatures. According to the city weather bureau, in the day-time on August 1st the temperature in the city and region will rise to 30-31 degrees.

In Moscow the situation is aggravated by the haze that has engulfed the city. The smoke from the forest and peat bog fires that continue to burn in a number of regions around Moscow, has stably settled down in the capital. The whitish haze has engulfed both the city's sleepy districts and its central part.

On Wednesday there were 119 seats of fire covering altogether 276 hectares in the Moscow Region. True, according to the press service of the regional governor, this area has decreased by 39 hectares, compared with Tuesday.

According to the estimate of the duty service of the region's governor, though the situation with the fires has been stabilized, that in the Southern and South-Eastern parts of the region remains serious.

More than a thousand people -- fire-fighters, foresters, workers of peat enterprises and civil defence staffers -- are taking part in extinguishing the forest and peat bog fires.

In the meantime, the weather people do not forecast any change of the situation soon.