The state of emergency due to drought has been introduced in several regions of Russia at once. This summer has been the hottest in 85 years for the inhabitants of Kolyma. The situation is difficult in Yakutia, where forests are blazing due to dry weather. Farmers are already counting losses.
For Krasnodar rescuers, a quadcopter is the main assistant. The territory of 3000 hectares is at a glance. A quick flight around the area – and you already know where and how it burns. The helicopter camera even notices a small fire. All flights are carried out only in manual mode and there are up to three such flights per day.
“An unmanned aerial vehicle allows you to see a small fire from a given height. Accordingly, take measures to turn it off. It really helps in the work of firefighters, because a person cannot always see. Still, a drone is a real help,” said Renat Alimulaev, chief inspector of the Dinsky district of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Emergencies of Russia for the Krasnodar Territory.
When abnormal heat and dryness “blanket”, all land suffers. But pay special attention to agricultural fields. Victor Kravchenko has been working on a combine harvester for more than 10 years. I’ve only seen big fires on TV. He says that in his life he has only encountered a small fire, but even that is scary.
“Last year we had a case: a tractor arrives at the factory, drives in – smoke rises. He only drowned – the flame broke out. Immediately a barrel of fire, fire extinguishers, everything. We put it out, flooded it. And then the shaking just starts to go,” the driver told Zvezda.
Workers always have fire extinguishers, firecrackers and cans of water close at hand. On the fields are their assistants.
“Every farmer has such a little rescuer. There are about 10 cubic meters of water here. It is of course impossible to turn off the whole field. But it is realistic to prevent a strong fire or to hold out until the Emergency Situations Ministry arrives, ”said correspondent Alina Pchelintseva.
Hot and dry weather this summer has affected many Russian regions. The drought, so far without fires, has already hit the pockets of farmers in the Novosibirsk region hard. They say there was nothing like it for almost 60 years. There has been no rain for almost three months. Eleven thousand hectares had to be resown in the hope of saving the harvest. But the scorching sun almost immediately kills the small shoots.
Learn more about the damage to farmers and herders, about crops, which will not grow enough this year, and what is the geography of the consequences of abnormal heat – in the report by Alina Pchelintseva.
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