NASA satellites Terra and Aqua on Thursday registered 535 hotspots from wildfires across Russia, according to the ScanEx website where information from the satellites are sent.
The Aqua satellite, equipped with an atmospheric infrared sounder, and Terra, equipped with a thermal emission and reflection radiometer, identified 376 forest fires in Russia on Wednesday and 636 on Tuesday.
The decrease in the number of hotspots identified could be a result of the increased levels of smoke in several Russian regions.
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.
MOSCOW, August 5 (RIA Novosti)
