NASA satellites Terra and Aqua have fixed more than 600 hotspots from wildfires within Russian territory, according to the ScanEx website where information from the satellites are sent.
The Aqua satellite, equipped with an atmospheric infrared sounder, and Terra, equipped with a thermal emission and reflection radiometer, have identified 636 forest fires in Russia.
According to the website, the number of hotspots has significantly increased over the past 24 hours in Russia. It said the most numerous hotspots were in the Ryazan and Nizhny Novgorod regions, and in the republic of Mari El.
At least 40 people have died and over 2,000 have been left homeless by fires which have swept across the central part of European Russia. The wildfires have been sparked by temperatures up to and above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
The damage caused by the flames is estimated at over 4.6 billion rubles ($150 million).
MOSCOW, August 3 (RIA Novosti)
