Smog from wildfires currently raging in Siberia could reach as far as Moscow, Greenpeace Russia told The Moscow Times on Tuesday. An unprecedented number of wildfires has spread across the region since June, exceeding an area the size of annexed Crimea. Authorities have been slow to declare emergencies and firefighting efforts have been scaled back over economic concerns, prompting residents to post pleas for help and demands for action online.

Smoke from the forest fires has already reached the shores of Alaska, said Grigory Kuksin, the head of Greenpeace Russia’s fire department. “If the wind blows west, the smoke will go beyond the Ural Mountains and may reach Moscow, which is extremely rare. If that happens, we’ll be able to see haze,” Kuksin told The Moscow Times.

The smoke will likely increase the mortality rate in the regions closest to the fires, he said. Smog has already reached major cities including Novosibirsk and Tomsk, leading to a rise in complaints over air pollution. The fires could also exacerbate climate change, Kuksin said, and will lead to an even bigger loss of forest areas.