Written by Ria Singh, a grade 6 student.

Our planet is getting hotter by the day.

Last year there were wildfires in Australia and also in the Amazon rainforest. Now there have been wildfires in Russia. An area bigger than the size of the country Greece has been burned till now.

Greenpeace Russia has said that across Siberia about 47 million acres of forests and fields have burned since January (read here to know what Greenpeace is). Greenpeace also said that the Russian government was not doing enough to stop the fire during this worst heatwave.

The fires now happen every year, but the record-breaking heat last has made the damage worse.  

Where is Siberia?

Siberia is a big province in Russia and is one of the coldest places in the world. Its city of Yakutsk in eastern Siberia is actually said to be the coldest city in the world.

How can heat waves occur in such a cold place?

Experts say that these heatwaves and fires are a disturbing cause of climate change, caused by humans. In the town of Verkhoyansk temperatures went up to 38C – a record high for the entire Arctic region.

A recent study that looked into the heatwaves said that for now this six months of heat that’s seen in Siberia is most probably a “once-in-a-lifetime event” – expected to happen approximately once in every 130 years.

But, something needs to be done soon about climate change and emissions, otherwise, the heat will increase in the Arctic region say experts.