Date: 05-Aug-10
Country: RUSSIA
Author: Alexei Anishchuk
 

Boats sail on the Khimkinsky reservoir water area with apartment buildings seen in the background through heavy smog in Moscow, August 4, 2010.
Photo: Alexander Natruskin

Air quality levels in Moscow tumbled to an eight-year low on Wednesday as the Russian capital was blanketed in thick smoke from forest and peat fires, said Moscow's state agency for monitoring air pollution.

A heatwave has engulfed central parts of European Russia since mid June, pushing temperatures to the highest levels since records began and sparking forest fires that have killed at least 48 people.

"Air pollution surged four to ten times (above the maximum safe levels) in the early morning hours, which is an new high," Elena Lezina, an expert at the Moscow state agency that monitors air pollution, told Reuters.

The concentration of carbon monoxide in Moscow soared to about 5.7 times safe levels at night and the concentration of suspended particles tripled, she said.

Moscow has been shrouded in the worst smoke since 2002 when peat fires around the capital sent pollution levels soaring.

(Editing by Guy Faulconbridge)