By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year
August 7 – Russia’s match against Bulgaria on Wednesday (August 11) has been moved from Moscow to St Petersburg because of health risks after acrid smog engulfed the Russian capital at a time that officials were hoping to showcase the country’s bid to host the 2018 World Cup.
The friendly, the first match that new coach Dick Advocaat will oversee following his appointment to replace Guus Hiddink, will now be held at the 23,000-seat Petrovsky Stadium, the home ground of Russian League leaders Zenit St Petersburg.
“The friendly match between Russia and Bulgaria on August 11 is being moved to St Petersburg because of worsening weather conditions [abnormal heat and smoke] in Moscow,” the Russian Football Union said in a statement.
The Moscow region has been hit by a record heat wave, with temperatures reaching 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit) this week, causing forest fires in the area.
Pollution surged to five times normal levels in the city of 10.5 million, the highest sustained contamination since Russia’s worst heatwave in more than a century began a month ago.
At least 47 flights were delayed today as visibility at city airports fell to as little as 350 meters (1,148 feet) this morning.
Carbon monoxide in Moscow’s air rose to more than six times the admissible maximum level today and air pollution is worsening, the city’s environmental protection department said on its website.
Health officials urged Muscovites not to venture outdoors.
Emergency crews are battling 577 fires covering 193,516 hectares (747 square miles) across Russia, the Emergency Situations Ministry said on its website today.
So far this year, fires have scorched 751,907 hectares, an area about three times the size of Luxembourg, according to the Ministry.
Emergency Minister Sergey Shoygu said the fires have killed at least 52 people.
The crisis has hit Russia less than two weeks before FIFA’s team of inspectors, led by Harold Mayne-Nicholls (pictured), President of the Chilean Football Association, are due to arrive in the country to evaluate their bid to stage the 2018 World Cup.
They are scheduled to arrive on August 16 and stay until August 19.
But temperatures as high as 42 degrees Celsius (108 degrees Fahrenheit) will continue to affect central Russia and along the Volga River, where the fires are concentrated, at least until the end of this week, forecasters predict.
The deadly smog also forced the Russian Premier League to postpone the derby between Dynamo Moscow and CSKA Moscow and the Spartak Moscow-Zenit match this weekend.
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