On October 14, according to Rosobodyradzor of the Yekaterinburg district, a cloud of smog resulting from the smoldering of peatlands covered the entire city. As early as October 11, there have been complaints from citizens and residents of the suburbs in the Ministry of Emergency about the corrosive smoke and the strong smell of residue. Three days later, there was almost zero visibility in most areas of Yekaterinburg and the level of pollutants (carbon monoxide, fine dust and PM particles) exceeded the norm by a factor of 2-2.5 depending on the area.
In this regard, the traffic police decided to stop the movement of cars on parts of the YRR (Yekaterinburg Ring Road), as well as on the section between the Green Bor Dam and the Solnechny district. A system of water supply was laid along it to extinguish areas of burning peatland marshes.
“YRR – from Field Road to Coppery – traffic was closed due to poor visibility due to peat burning for road safety, visibility is zero”, – the press service of the traffic service of the traffic police told TASS reporters.
Link to video from Telegram channel RIA News about the situation on the roads in Yekaterinburg: https://t.me/rian_ru/124906?single
According to the information agency, in addition to the closure of roads due to the worsening smog situation, ZF-944 flying from La Romana (Dominicana) to Yekaterinburg could not land at “Koltsovo” airport. The plane was directed to the Tyumen airfield. Also, according to the Koltsovo airport press service, the departure of seven more flights was delayed.
In the Solnechny district, where the concentration of smog is the highest, students of school №215 were temporarily transferred to a remote learning format. The administration of the district kindergarten recommends that parents leave their children at home, however, there was no complete cancellation of classes.
“The flooding of the peat bog near Yekaterinburg involved 73 people and 16 special equipment, and the work is carried out 24 hours a day” – reported representatives of the Ministry of Emergency in the Sverdlovsk region.
In order to avoid negative consequences, doctors recommend Yekaterinburg residents and its suburbs not to be outside for a long time, especially during the morning hours, to open windows as little as possible, to wash regularly their eyes, throat and nose, to use air-conditioners, and in case of wearing lenses or glasses to give preference to the last ones.
