Heavy smog from raging peat bog fires outside Moscow does not have a significant effect on wild animals, the director of environmental programs for the all-Russian Green Patrol social organization said on Wednesday.
A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June while Moscow and a dozen other cities have been wrapped in a thick layer of smog from wildfires and peat bog fires. Health experts say pollution levels are so high that breathing has become as dangerous as smoking several packs of cigarettes a day.
"Household pets living within the city suffer the most from smog. Dogs and cats are choking just like us [from the smog], and their sense of smell is tens times stronger than ours," Roman Pukalov said.
He said that as far as wild birds are concerned, then ducks suffer more from the heat than from the smog.
The Moscow heat on Wednesday broke the temperature record for August with 37.1 degrees Celsius (98.78 degrees Fahrenheit), the Fobos meteorological center said.
It said temperatures in areas around Moscow may reach 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) by the weekend.
The record-breaking heat wave in Moscow will continue through mid-August, meteorologists say.
MOSCOW, August 4 (RIA Novosti)
