I was coming home from church and noticed that my street was sort of misty, and it smelled like something was burning. This wasn't your typical house or car on fire...it was something bigger!
So apparently the winds had blown some forest/peat bog fires to certain areas of St. Petersburg. I don't know if you can tell from this photo, but those buildings in the background are usually much clearer!
Next photo/-
This is what they look like on a normal day.
It didn't seem like the smoky air was going away anytime soon, so I had to close all the windows, much to my chagrin, as it was over 80 F inside.
I checked the weather page incessantly for signs of rain or a drop in temperature. It seemed hopeful that the wind might change again. For the moment, I sat as if a sauna, watching a breeze tantalizingly rustle the trees outside my closed windows.
In the morning, I awoke, gingerly opened the window, and stuck my head out to sniff the air. No smoke! It had even cooled off a little and I let some air in the apartment until the sun came out to stay for the next 9-10 hours.
I am really thankful that our little episode did not last very long! And I really feel for those where this has going been on for several days.
Liz, the smokey picture in St Pete looks like one of our "good" days here in Nizhny Novgorod. It was like that today so we were able to open the windows. The apartment has been over 100F and the temps outside in the high 90s
ReplyDeleteMy good friend lives in Moscow, and she just told me that it is even worse than what the media says it is.
ReplyDeleteBut I believe the nature has an amazing way of restoring itself. It is similar to the Gulf. So much oil was spilled, yet the ocean has "eaten it all up". The people, who have been studying it, have no clue where all that oil has gone to.
So, all these fires will be forgotten pretty soon. But sorry to hear about all that smoke.