Many people on the internet have been wondering where 2020 would take us next. After all, we had a bit of a rough start with the novel coronavirus ravaging the globe. It seems that April isn’t keen on making our year better either.
Forest fires have been ravaging parts of the exclusion zone near the exploded nuclear reactor in Chernobyl for over a week now and it appears they are getting dangerously close to the reactor itself.
Forest fires have been ravaging the exclusion zone near Chernobyl for over a week now
Image credits: VOLODYMYR SHUVAYEV (AFP)
While wildfires in Chernobyl are nothing new, the forest fires ravaging near the abandoned nuclear power plant since last week are getting dangerously close to it. Tour operator Yaroslav Emelianenko said one had reached the abandoned town of Pripyat, which used to serve the plant. He said it was now just 2 km (1.24 miles) from where the most dangerous waste from the plant was stored. Furthermore, Greenpeace states the fires are much bigger than the authorities realized.
Hundreds of firefighters have been trying to put out the fires since April 5; however, the fire has already engulfed 8,600 acres of land
Image credits: EPA (STR)
Several hundred firefighters are already deployed to the area, with planes and helicopters aiding them in dropping water across the burning land. The NGO’s Russian branch said the largest fire covered 34,000 hectares. A second and more concerning fire is just a kilometer away from the former plant and covers 12,000 hectares in area.
Radiation levels in the area have already spiked 16 times higher than they were last week
Image credits: VOLODYMYR SHUVAYEV
While radiation levels have spiked 16 times higher since the fires started, the good news is, it’s still significantly lower than the radiation blast given by the explosion back in 1986. However, it is still concerning because radioactive smoke could easily be blown towards the Ukrainian capital Kyiv only 60 miles away, thus affecting at least three million residents of the city.
It is feared that if the fires continue, the rising level of radiation could affect the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, which is only 60 miles away
Image credits: YAROSLAV EMELIANENKO
The explosion in 1986 scattered a lot of radioactive material in the area, which could potentially release radioactive fumes if it caught on fire
#Chernobyl radiation levels exceed the norm by 16% as the blaze gets closer to the nuclear power plant & radioactive waste storage siteshttps://t.co/7wT1UwexRc pic.twitter.com/23D8eMYyyD
— RT (@RT_com) April 14, 2020
Kateryna Pavlova, the acting head of the agency that oversees the area that’s currently burning, told The New York Times: “At the moment, we cannot say the fire is contained. We have been working all night digging firebreaks around the plant to protect it from fire. Wind can raise hot particles in the air together with the ash and blow it toward populated areas. We are lucky to have quarantine measures in place now as people stay at home, walk less, and wear masks.” Even though wildfires are not particularly unusual to the Chernobyl area, the current fires may have been arson. A man who set grass in the area on fire is detained by the Ukrainian police for further investigation.
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