Patches of blue sky were visible in Moscow on Tuesday morning for the first time since last week, although dozens of wildfires continue to rage outside the capital.
Moscow has been shrouded in acrid smog from the worst wildfires in Russian history for over a week now, with health officials warning people to stay indoors as much as possible and wear masks when outdoors.
Experts say breathing the polluted air is as dangerous as smoking several packets of cigarettes a day.
A state of emergency has been declared in several regions across central Russia.
The Moscow authorities said the mortality rate had doubled since a record-breaking heat wave and the accompanying wildfires gripped the country in mid-June.
Moscow Mayor Yuri Luzhkov said the city, which is built mostly from heat-absorbing concrete, needed heat-resistant pavements to protect its residents from further heat waves. However, considering the state of the Russian capital's existing roads and sidewalks, this seems an ambitious task. RIA Novosti
