莫斯科街頭的溫度在9日飆升至攝氏40度，加上野火造成的煙霧以及太陽輻射造成的磁暴，使得當地公共健康問題遭受嚴重考驗。
打破130年來紀錄的熱浪引發了俄羅斯中部以及莫斯科地區上百處的野火，大火所造成的煙霧已經橫跨歐洲，遠達芬蘭。
這場森林大火可以說與氣候變遷有關，據俄羅斯氣象部門指出，危險的氣候現象，包括足以引發大火的乾熱氣候發生次數，在過去15年內增加了一倍以上。
俄羅斯中部自七月初以來，就受到大火的困擾，火災發生的速度比消防員撲滅的速度更快。俄羅斯緊急應變部(EMERCOM)在9日表示，過去24小時內，消防員在247處火場灌救，其中239處已經被撲滅。
緊急應變部的信息中心在上週四表示，因野火而死亡的人數已經達到50人。
俄羅斯總統麥德維夫(Dimitry Medvedev)已宣布多處地區進入緊急狀況，他說：「我們的國家有許多地區正遭受到熱浪帶來的悲劇。人們正與大火搏鬥。這場重大的自然災害的嚴重影響了梁贊(Ryazan)、莫斯科、下諾夫哥羅德(Nizhny Novgorod)、弗拉基米爾(Vladimir )、沃羅涅日(Voronezh )、莫爾多瓦共和國(Mordovia)以及俄羅斯其他地區。14處大火正在我們的國家境內肆虐，廣大的地區被火焰所吞沒。」
麥德維夫說：「緊急應變部門與其他單位正採取一切可能的方法控制火勢，而其中最重要的工作是拯救生命」，他已經指示國防部以及其他執法、國安與保全單位參與這項工作。
俄羅斯世界自然基金會表示，現有的森林法使局勢更加惡化，它把昂貴的防火措施，交在森林內以及附近的承租者手中。
根據這項備受環保團體嚴厲批評，於07年1月1日生效的俄羅斯森林法，「出租林地的消防安全視承租者對森林的開發計畫而定。」
如果森林沒有出租，其消防安全則由地方當局負責。這些措施包含了供消防車行駛的道路，供直昇機降落的場地，設置防火帶以及消防器材的保養維護。
「對中小型的承租者而言，這項規定是個沉重的負擔，因此消防措施往往只是徒具形式」，俄羅斯世界自然基金會的政策協調員史麥特考夫(Nikolay Shmatkov)說。
俄羅斯總理普丁在週一接到了歐盟國際合作暨人道與危機處理專員格奧爾基耶娃(Kristalina Georgieva)的協助。
格奧爾基耶娃在電話中說，歐盟委員會正在考慮對俄羅斯當地受到森林火災影響家庭中的孩童提供幫助的可能性，並且對參與滅火的消防員提供協助。
俄羅斯數十年來最嚴重的旱災也影響了世界糧食市場。小麥價格飆漲的速度超過過去30年，俄羅斯官員擔心可能出現的糧食危機。
總理普丁週一警告說，收穫可能低於預期，只有6千萬噸。他宣布了一項從8月15日至12月31日的糧食出口禁令，更使得糧食價格抬高。
「俄羅斯許多地區已經宣佈進入緊急狀況，」普丁在7月27日訪問烏克蘭之後說道。「但我們一定會克服困難，如同我所說的，我們將撥出必要的資源給農業，包括直接補貼、補助、政府擔保與貸款補貼。另外也將釋出存糧以提供以飼料為主的糧食銷售來供應禽畜的飼養，我們也將提供貸款補貼來資助這類購買。」
而現在俄羅斯的困境又增加了一項：磁暴。
俄羅斯地磁、電離層和無線電波傳播研究所的所長蓋達許(Sergei Gaidash)告訴官方通訊社塔斯社說，「8月9日和10兩日有可能見到磁暴現象。」
科學家們說，小型磁暴產生會對人體產生負面影響。醫生警告，即使是健康的人也可能受到刺激而感到緊張，包括無法入睡，工作表現差等。而只有充分睡眠和休息可以使狀況緩解。
The temperature soared to 40 degrees Celsius, or 104 Fahrenheit, on the streets of Moscow today, and coupled with smog from wildfires and a magnetic storm from solar radiation, is creating a public health emergency.
Across central Russia and in the Moscow region crews are fighting hundreds of wildfires touched off by the heatwave, unprecedented since recordkeeping began 130 years ago. Smoke from the fires has spread across Europe as far as Finland.
The forest fires can be linked to climate change. According to Russian meteorological agency Rosgidromet, a number of dangerous climate phenomena, which include waves of very hot and dry weather that trigger wildfires, have doubled during the past 15 years.
Central Russia has been plagued by wildfires since early July and more fires are breaking out as quickly as crews can extinguish them. Russia's Emergency Situations Ministry, EMERCOM, said today that firefighters are battling 247 new fires that arose over the past 24 hours, while 239 fires were extinguished.
The death toll just from wildfires has reached 50, the EMERCOM information department said on Thursday.
Russian President Dimitry Medvedev has declared a state of emergency in many regions. "The heat wave we are experiencing has brought tragedy to several of our country's regions. They are battling with fire. This natural disaster of immense proportions has hit Ryazan, Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladimir and Voronezh regions, the Republic of Mordovia, and other parts of Russia. Fires are blazing today in 14 of our country's regions, with vast areas engulfed by flames."
"The Emergency Situations Ministry and other state institutions are taking all possible measures to bring the fires under control and, most important of all, save people," said Medvedev, who has directed the Defence Ministry and other law enforcement, security and defence agencies to join in this work.
WWF-Russia says the situation is being made worse by existing forest laws which put expensive fire prevention measures in the hands of renters in and around forested areas.
According to the Forest Code of the Russian Federation, which came into force January 1, 2007 and was the subject of harsh criticism from environmental groups, "fire security measures on rented forest areas are carried out by their renters on the basis of forest exploitation projects."
In forests not under rent, fire prevention responsibilities fall on the local authorities. These measures call for the construction of roads for fire fighting vehicles, landing grounds for fire fighting helicopters, creation of firebreaks, and maintenance of fire fighting equipment.
"As a rule, these expensive activities are a heavy burden for small and medium renters, and therefore anti-fire measures are a pure formality," says Nikolay Shmatkov, WWF-Russia forest policy coordinator.
Prime Minister Vladimir Putin Monday received an offer of help from EU Commissioner for International Cooperation, Humanitarian Aid and Crisis Response Kristalina Georgieva.
In a phone conversation, Georgieva said that the European Commission is considering the possibility of helping Russian children whose families have been affected by forest fires and the firefighters who took part in extinguishing the worst wildfires.
Russia's worst drought in decades also has affected world grain markets. Wheat prices are spiking faster than they have in more than 30 years, and Russian officials fear a possible food crisis.
Prime Minister Putin warned on Monday that the harvest could be as low as 60 million tonnes, lower than expected. He announced a grain export ban from August 15 to December 31, sending prices higher.
"You know that a state of emergency has been declared in many Russian regions," said Putin July 27 after a visit to Ukraine. "But we will overcome; we will allocate requisite resources to agriculture, as I have said. They will include direct subsidies, grants, government guarantees, loan subsidies, and grain sales, primarily fodder grain, to livestock-breeding farms from the grain reserve, and we will also subsidize the loans our farms will take out to finance such purchases."
Now, to add to Russia's woes, a geomagnetic storm has hit the Earth.
The director of Russia's Institute of Earth Magnetism, Ionosphere and Radiowaves Propagation, Sergei Gaidash, told the official news agency Itar-Tass, "The days of August 9 and 10 are likely to see a magnetic storm.
Scientists say minor magnetic storms have negative effects on the human body. Inability to sleep and poor performance at work, irritation and nervousness may be felt even by healthy people, doctors warn. Yet they say that only sleep and rest can help.
全文及圖片詳見：ENS報導
作者
In my healing journey and learning to attain the breath awareness, I become aware of the reality that all the creatures of the world are breathing the same breath. Take action, here and now. From my physical being to the every corner of this out of balance's planet.
