Where Are the Russian Wildfires? Top Questions Answered

(Aug. 10) -- As the death toll increases and the fires and heat rage on in Russia, Surge Desk answers your top nine questions about the environmental, humanitarian and economic crisis.

1. Where are the Russian wildfires?
The fires are mainly in western Russia, many of them near Moscow, and eastern Siberia. The map below, created by the University of Maryland using Google Earth, shows the active fires burning on Monday.

Google

2. How many people have died from the Russian wildfires?
More than 50 people have died from the wildfires, including two soldiers Monday who were working to extinguish a fire near Russia's main nuclear research center in Sarov when they were hit by burning pieces of trees, according to Agence France-Presse.

3. How bad is the heat wave?
It's the country's worst heat wave since record-keeping began 130 years ago. For the past consecutive 26 days, temperatures in Moscow have risen above 86 degrees Fahrenheit when the average high in July is only 74 and in August only 68. The city has met or beat its former record high of 99 five times already. Below, a NASA map shows temperature anomalies across Russia from July 20 to 27 as compared to temperatures on the same dates from 2000 to 2008. The areas in red represent temperatures that are higher than normal, while the areas in blue represent temperatures below normal.

NASA

4. How many people have died from the heat wave?
Some reports say there have been 5,000 deaths nationwide already. Daily deaths in Moscow have doubled, and morgues are nearing capacity.

5. How much land has burned?
Ten million hectares (approximately 24.7 million acres) of land have burned, according to AFP. Since June, there have been more than 30,000 fires across the country, according to the Telegraph.

6. Are the wildfires easing up?
No. There are currently 174,035 hectares (approximately 430,049 acres) of land burning throughout the country, AFP reports; 557 fires are burning now, including 247 new fires in the last day, which is more than the 239 that had been put out. The image below, taken Monday by NASA's Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), shows the smoke coverage in western Russia.

NASA

7. How will the fires affect the Russian economy?
The Russian newspaper Kommersant said the fires could cost the Russian economy $15 billion or 1 percent of its GDP.

8. How much Russian grain has been destroyed by the wildfires?
Approximately one third of Russia's wheat crop has been destroyed, the Telegraph reports. The government has frozen grain exports for the rest of the year, which may affect the rest of the world because Russia is the third largest exporter of wheat.

9. How bad is the air quality in Moscow?
Carbon monoxide levels in the air were 1.4 times higher than the acceptable level today, down from 6.6 times higher on Saturday. Many people are wearing face masks and hanging wet towels in their homes. Smoke has infiltrated every space of the city, from people's homes to the subway, according to the Telegraph.