Russian wildfires shrink but smog still hangs over Moscow

Smog lingers over Russian capital

MOSCOW — The number of wildfires in Russia has shrunk significantly, but clouds of acrid smog generated by them are still hanging over the Russian capital.

Mosecomonitoring environment watchdog said that the level of carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons and other pollutants continued to exceed safe limits Wednesday. Smoke has periodically shrouded large sections of the city since the weekend, but pollution remained below its peak levels from earlier this month when smog choked the Russian capital for a week.

The Emergency Situations Ministry said the amount of fires around Moscow have halved since Tuesday.

The hottest summer since records began 130 years ago has sparked thousands of fires in Russia. Drought has cost Russia a third of its wheat crop, prompting the government to ban wheat exports through the year’s end.