As residents of several Russian cities struggle with the effects of smoke from vast Siberian wildfires, President Vladimir Putin ordered the military to assist the firefighting effort.

"The military staff of the Defense Ministry will get involved in extinguishing Siberian fires," the Kremlin officials said on the president's website on Tuesday.

Putin gave the order after being briefed by Yevgeny Zinichev, the head of Russia's emergency ministry. The Kremlin did not specify what actions the military would take. Seperately, the defense ministry told news agencies that 10 planes and 10 helicopters had been deployed to the Krasnoyarsk region in Siberia.

No 'threat,' no firefighting

Earlier on Tuesday, Russia's forest protection agency said firefighters across Russia were actively fighting 147 forest fires, and that 32 had been put out the day before.

Wildfires envelope Siberia, choke Russian cities Huge environmental impact The image shows an aerial view of the wildfires in Russia's Siberia. Massive forest fires are a common occurrence in the region, but the magnitude of this year's blazes has reached an exceptional level with fears of a long-term effect on the environment.

Wildfires envelope Siberia, choke Russian cities High temperatures More than 3.2 million hectares (7.9 million acres) were on fire on Monday alone, mainly in the vast regions of Yakutia in the north and Krasnoyarsk and Irkutsk in Siberia, authorities said. The fires, triggered by dry thunderstorms in temperatures above 30 degrees Celsius (86 degrees Fahrenheit), were spread by strong winds, Russia's federal forestry agency said.

Wildfires envelope Siberia, choke Russian cities Slow to act The picture shows a woman taking part in firefighting exercises for volunteers at the Mechta [Dream] forest summer camp outside Moscow. Russian authorities have been slow to declare emergencies and firefighting efforts have been scaled back over economic concerns. The lackluster response has prompted residents to post pleas for help and demands for action online.

Wildfires envelope Siberia, choke Russian cities Accelerating global warming The fires could exacerbate climate change, warn experts. Greenpeace says almost 12 million hectares have been burnt this year, causing significant CO2 emissions and reducing the future capacity of forest to absorb the carbon dioxide. Some scientists posted satellite images from NASA showing the clouds of smoke reaching Arctic areas.

Wildfires envelope Siberia, choke Russian cities Smog engulfs cities The smoke from the wildfires has affected not only small settlements, but also major cities in western Siberia and the Altai region as well as the Urals such as Chelyabinsk and Yekaterinburg, and disrupted air travel. The image shows how the smoke has enveloped the city of Kemerovo in southern Siberia. Author: Srinivas Mazumdaru



The Avialesoohrana forest protection agency said they were "constantly monitoring" another 321 forest fires in "remote and difficult-to-reach areas." The total area consumed by the fires was over 2.88 million hectares (7.12 million acres).

Read more: Russia is frozen on climate change

However, the agency said it was not fighting the fires in remote areas. The reason, according to a statement cited by the Interfax news agency, was that "there was no threat to population centers and economic objects, and the projected losses through firefighting surpass the potential damage of the fires."

Fires in Siberia melt Arctic snow

However, experts have warned that damage caused by fires goes far beyond money.

Talking to DW Russian, Oxana Tarasova from the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) warned of a vicious circle of Siberian fires, smoke particles wafting north, and melting snow on the Arctic.

Read more: Lost polar bear wanders through Russian city of Norilsk

"In other words, it all started burning because it got so warm and dry, [the fires] released aerosol, the aerosol fell on the snow, the snow began to melt, the climate change accelerates, the temperature rises," she told DW.

"We get a vicious circle."

'Have you seen what was going on in Europe?'

The WMO expert says the world will only face more and more extreme weather events as the climate keeps changing.

"For example, today we have enough precipitation to flood half of Siberia, and tomorrow the temperature rises to 45 degrees Celsius, everything dries up and starts burning. This back and forth from one extreme to another — it a sign of long-term climate change," she said.

Read more: Europe boils in record-setting heat wave

Read more: Europe lashed by hail, fatal storms

"Have you seen what was going on in Europe? There was a heat wave two weeks long, that it got a bit cooler, than another heat wave started," Tarasova added.

Additionally, losing forest reduces the Earth's capability to process carbon dioxide.

"If we want to keep the planet habitable, we need to preserve the forests," she told DW.

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