The nature of natural disasters in Russia is unprecedented: Russian President Vladimir Putin

Moscow: – President Vladimir Putin has warned that the scale of natural disasters in Russia this year is unprecedented. With months of rain falling in the southern part of Russia in a matter of hours, droughts in the far east have not stopped, Putin said, pointing to Russia’s changing climate. Last month, it was reported that Russian authorities had used climate engineering technology to extinguish the fire.

Massive fires have been raging in Siberia, Russia‘s far eastern part, since last month. So far, 94 lakh hectares of land has been burnt to ashes in these forests. The area is more extensive than Portugal in Europe. Russian officials say global warming and the resulting heatwaves are the main reasons behind the floods. Rising temperatures have been followed by dry storms in Siberia, which have reportedly sparked wildfires. Russian troops have also been deployed to control the fires.

On the other hand, heavy rains have been reported in the southern Russian provinces of Krasnodar and Crimea. Heavy rains and storms have flooded more than a thousand homes and buildings in Krasnodar province. The floods have washed away part of the national highway and disrupted the power supply to more than one lakh people. More than 1,500 people in the area have been evacuated. The minister informed that about two and a half thousand personnel of the Emergency Department have been deployed to control the situation created due to heavy rains and floods.

In the wake of a spate of natural disasters, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with heads of state and government. At the meeting, Putin warned that the nature of natural disasters was unprecedented. President Putin also said that the disasters in Russia have highlighted the importance of working on the climate and environmental agenda in a planned manner. Russia, meanwhile, has reportedly set up a National Response Centre to deal with natural disasters.