2019 Russian wildfires
{{short description|Spate of forest fires in Russia}}
{{Multiple issues|
{{Update|date=August 2019}}
{{Expand Russian|topic=hist|date=August 2019}}
}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=April 2020}}
{{Infobox wildfire
| title= 2019 Russian wildfires
| image=Siberian wildfires ESA19649507.jpeg
| caption=Sentinel-3 satellite view of 2019 wildfires
| reference=
| cost=
| total_fires=
| total_area={{convert|3000000|ha}}
| injuries=
| fatalities=None reported
| structures=
| is_season=yes
| year=2019
| season_name=Russian wildfires
}}
The 2019 Siberian wildfires are the large-scale wildfires that occurred across Russian Siberia between June and September 2019 and were among the most extensive and destructive in the region’s recent history. By the end of the month the size of the fires reached {{convert|2600000|ha}}.{{Cite web |url=https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/07/28/153741-ploschad-lesnyh-pozharov-v-sibiri-i-yakutii-prevysila-2-6-mln-ga |title=Площадь лесных пожаров в Сибири превысила 2,6 млн га |website=Novaya Gazeta |language=ru |access-date=1 August 2019 |archive-date=29 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190729192936/https://www.novayagazeta.ru/news/2019/07/28/153741-ploschad-lesnyh-pozharov-v-sibiri-i-yakutii-prevysila-2-6-mln-ga |url-status=dead }} The wildfires were primarily concentrated in Yakutia (Sakha Republic), Krasnoyarsk Krai, Irkutsk Oblast, and Buryatia. The total burned area and number of fires exceeded the annual average by approximately 1.5 times, ranking among the most severe wildfires recorded in the past two decades. By mid-August, the cumulative area affected by fires had surpassed {{convert|5000000|ha}}.{{cite web
|url=https://www.kommersant.ru/doc/4059734
|title=Природа свое сожжет
|trans-title=Nature burns its own
|date=2019-08-13
|publisher=Kommersant
|author=Yulia Sasevich, Anna Vasilieva
|accessdate=2025-05-23
}}
The fires produced dense smoke plumes, which spread over major cities across Siberia, the Urals, and Kazakhstan, significantly deteriorating air quality. As of 30 July, there had been no reported deaths or injuries due to the fires.{{Cite web|url=https://tass.ru/proisshestviya/6715289|title=Медведев предупредил губернаторов о необходимости лично контролировать ситуацию с пожарами|last=|first=|date=|website=|publisher=TASS|trans-title=Medvedev warns governors to have the situation with wildfires on personal control|access-date=1 August 2019}}
The 2019 Siberia wildfires generated significant publicity, especially among social media users.{{Cite web|url=https://ria.ru/20190727/1556935209.html|title=Знаменитости призвали потушить пожары в Сибири|trans-title=Celebrities call for Help to put out fires in Siberia|date=27 July 2019|website=РИА Новости|language=ru|access-date=2020-04-26}} As a result, a process of reviewing legal regulations regarding forest protection and forest fire extinguishing activities was started at the state level.{{Cite web|url=https://www.vedomosti.ru/politics/articles/2019/07/29/807529-pravila-borbi-s-pozharami|title=Депутаты просят Минприроды пересмотреть правила борьбы с пожарами|website=Ведомости|date=29 July 2019 |language=ru|access-date=2020-04-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://rg.ru/2019/09/26/minprirody-predlagaet-pomeniat-sistemu-tusheniia-lesnyh-pozharov.html|title=Минприроды предлагает поменять систему тушения лесных пожаров|website=Российская газета|date=26 September 2019 |language=ru|access-date=2020-04-26}}{{Cite web|url=https://tass.ru/obschestvo/7385537|title=В Думу внесли законопроект о возвращении полномочий по охране лесов на федеральный уровень|website=ТАСС|access-date=2020-04-26}}
Reasons
In June 2019, average monthly temperatures in the Krasnoyarsk krai, the northern regions of the Irkutsk oblast and Buryatia significantly exceeded the norm due to the prolonged dominance of anticyclones. Temperature anomalies ranged from 2.5 to 4 degrees (according to other data, they were almost ten degrees higher than the average of 1981-2010).{{cite web
|url=https://wmo.int/ru/media/stikhiynye-pozhary-dostatochno-vsego-odnoy-iskry
|title=Стихийные пожары: достаточно всего одной искры
|trans-title=Wildfires: A Single spark is enough
|date=2019-07-12
|publisher=World Meteorological Organization
|accessdate=2025-05-24
|language=ru
}})
Several regions experienced precipitation levels below seasonal norms accompanied by sustained high-velocity winds. This combination of meteorological factors significantly elevated both the ignition potential and spreading risk for wildfires.{{cite web
|url=https://ria.ru/20190801/1557067927.html
|title=В МЧС назвали причины распространения лесных пожаров в Сибири
|trans-title=Ministry of Emergency Situations identifies contributing factors to wildfire propagation in Siberia
|date=2019-08-01
|publisher=RIA Novosti
|accessdate=2025-05-23
|language=ru
}}
Extent
On 31 July 2019, Russian authorities reported that 3 million hectares ({{convert|3|e6ha|e6acre km2|abbr=unit|disp=out}}) were on fire, an area roughly the size of Belgium.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-orders-military-to-fight-forest-fires-in-russias-east/2019/07/31/15b118b4-b396-11e9-acc8-1d847bacca73_story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190731162022/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/putin-orders-military-to-fight-forest-fires-in-russias-east/2019/07/31/15b118b4-b396-11e9-acc8-1d847bacca73_story.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=31 July 2019 |title=Russian military called in to fight Siberian forest fires |author= |date=31 July 2019 |newspaper=Washington Post |access-date=5 August 2019}}
The smoke from the fires affected air quality in much of Siberia, including cities Novosibirsk, Krasnoyarsk, Omsk and other. Air travel was also disrupted.{{cite web |author= |title=Putin sends military to fight Siberia forest fires |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2019/jul/31/putin-sends-military-fight-siberia-forest-fires-russia |website=The Guardian |accessdate=11 August 2019 |date=31 July 2019}} According to NASA data, on 31 July the smoke from burning Siberian forests reached the territory of Alaska and, possibly mixed with smoke from local fires, reached the western coast of Canada.{{cite web|url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/goddard/2019/siberian-smoke-reaches-us-canada|title=Siberian Smoke Reaches U.S., Canada|date=31 July 2019|publisher=NASA|access-date=25 April 2020}}
As most of the area affected was in uninhabited and/or poorly accessible areas, most of the fires are not being attended by firefighters. As of 6 August, Russia's Aerial Forest Protection Service was fighting 161 fires on {{cvt|140000|ha}}, and only monitoring others. The smoke from the fires made aerial firefighting unsafe.{{cite web |title='Siberia is burning': Russians choke on forest fire smog |url=https://www.gulf-times.com/story/638417/Siberia-is-burning-Russians-choke-on-forest-fire-smog |work=Agence France-Presse |publisher=Gulf-Times |accessdate=11 August 2019 |date=6 August 2019}} In 2020, extreme heat fueled enormous outbreaks of wildfires in the Arctic Circle exceeding the 2019 record for CO2 emissions.{{Cite web|last=Stone|first=Madeleine|date=2020-07-06|title=A heat wave thawed Siberia's tundra. Now, it's on fire.|url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/heat-wave-thawed-siberia-now-on-fire/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200706224725/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/07/heat-wave-thawed-siberia-now-on-fire/|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 July 2020|access-date=2020-07-09|website=National Geographic|language=en}}{{Cite web|last=|first=|date=2020-09-03|title=Copernicus reveals summer 2020's Arctic wildfires set new emission records|url=https://atmosphere.copernicus.eu/copernicus-reveals-summer-2020s-arctic-wildfires-set-new-emission-records|access-date=2020-09-04|website=atmosphere.copernicus.eu}} In 2021, Siberia was hit again by extraordinary dry weather, record forest fires and smog.{{Cite web|last=Roth|first=Andrew|date=2021-07-20|title='Everything is on fire': Siberia hit by unprecedented burning|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/20/everything-is-on-fire-siberia-hit-by-unprecedented-burning|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-21|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210720170738/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/jul/20/everything-is-on-fire-siberia-hit-by-unprecedented-burning |archive-date=20 July 2021 }}
Reactions
On 1 August, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev ordered an investigation into the accusation that fires were started intentionally to conceal illegal logging. Officials in Krasnoyarsk were under investigation for neglecting to fight the fires.{{cite web |last1=Balmforth |first1=Tom |title=Russia to investigate if Siberia wildfires were started deliberately |url=https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-wildfires-idINKCN1UR5G7 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190801211416/https://in.reuters.com/article/russia-wildfires-idINKCN1UR5G7 |url-status=dead |archive-date=1 August 2019 |website=Reuters |accessdate=11 August 2019 |language=en |date=1 August 2019}} Medvedev also proposed revising regulatory acts in the field of extinguishing fires in regions including control zones, and instructed to consult with foreign experts in developing proposals to fight with wildfires,{{Cite web|url=https://www.interfax.ru/russia/671117|title=Медведев предложил пересмотреть понятие "зон контроля" природных пожаров|trans-title=Medvedev proposed revising the concept of “control zones” of wildfires|date=31 July 2019|publisher=Interfax|language=ru|accessdate=6 August 2019}} while US president Donald Trump offered Russia help in extinguishing the wildfires.{{Cite web|url=https://ria.ru/20190801/1557061190.html|title=Трамп предложил Путину помощь в борьбе с лесными пожарами в Сибири|trans-title=Trump offered Putin help in the fight against wildfires in Siberia|date=1 August 2019|publisher=RIA Novosti|language=ru|accessdate=2 August 2019}}