Peat fire smoke covers skies over Moscow

MOSCOW, August 1 (Itar-Tass) - Smoke from peat fires is once again
beclouding the skies over the Russian capital.
The Itar-Tass news agency reports that slate-grey haze has reduced
visibility on roads in the southeast of Moscow and in the suburbs.
In the town of Zhukovsky, the thick smoke makes it impossible to see
the contours of a neighbouring building 200 meters away from the top floor
of a five-storied apartment building.
Moscow airports are reportedly working in a normal regime thanks to
the powerful anti-fog equipment, which helps pilots and ground services.
Train drivers have been ordered to give whistles and lower the speed on
approaches to stations and railway crossings in areas of bad visibility.
According to administration of the Moscow region, there are 18 seats
of forest and peat fires on an area of about 50 hectares. Seventy-one new
forest and peat fires have erupted in the Moscow region over the past 24
hours on a total area of 177 hectares. Fife-fighters have extinguished 13
out of 14 peat fires and suppressed 39 out of 42 forest fires.