Russia's chief sanitary official Gennady Onishchenko said the start of the 2010/11 school year in Central Russia may be postponed due to disastrous environmental situation caused by raging wildfires.
Academic year in Russia traditionally starts on September 1.
"If the situation does not improve, we will recommend delaying the start of the school year," Onishchenko told the Ekho Moskvy radio station on Wednesday evening.
The official said he was likely to raise the issue next Monday, during a conference call with regional education authorities.
A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June, sparking wildfires and causing the worst drought in decades.
Moscow and a dozen other cities have been wrapped in a thick layer of smog. Health experts say pollution levels are so high that breathing has become as dangerous as smoking several packs of cigarettes a day.
At least 40 people have died and over 2,000 have been left homeless by fires which have swept across the central part of European Russia. The wildfires have been sparked by temperatures up to and above 40 degrees Celsius (104 Fahrenheit).
MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti)
