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Switch the black sky off, demand residents of Krasnoyarsk

By 0 and 0 and 0
31 January 2016

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'Soul cry. This is black smog over the city. Those who do not go to the suburbs cannot imagine the contrast.'  Picture: Svetlana Nazarova

These startling pictures show the city in what residents call 'Black Sky Mode', prompting an online petition to mayor Edkham Akbulatov and regional governor Viktor Tolokonsky demanding an improvement in the ecology.

Blue skies and bright sunshine are entirely blotted out by the 'veil of pollution' hanging over the city. Pictures posted by local people show a 'dangerous' environmental situation, they claim.

Svetlana Nazarova captioned a picture in her Instagram: 'Soul cry. This is black smog over the city. Those who do not go to the suburbs cannot imagine the contrast. 

Black Sky


Black Sky


Black Sky


Black Sky

'The city is covered by #blackskies, it is rather a #blackhole - and it lasts since the beginning of the year.' Pictures: Daria Tarasenko, Alexey Gudkin, Inna Maklakova, Ksenia Staranchukova

'In the woods today is the brightest sun and blue sky. Trees, shrubs and snow shining in the sun. And in the city is a grey veil, no air to breathe. I began to hate Krasnoyarsk. It is dangerous to live here.'

Daria Tarasenko posted: 'It seems that they [officials] gave up on the city's ecology. If my children want to leave, I will understand them.'

Olga Lomovtseva warned: 'The city is covered by #blackskies, it is rather a #blackhole - and it lasts since the beginning of the year. Nothing to breathe!'

Black Sky


Black Sky


Black Sky


Black Sky

Residents constantly feel a 'chemical smell' and the fears is expressed that officials do not disclose the sources of the pollution. Pictures: Olga Lomovtseva, Katya Churuksaeva, Dmitry Egorov, Viktor Belogurov

Officials have failed to explain the sources of pollution, according to some locals. The petition has been signed by more than 12,000 people in the industrial city. Residents constantly feel a 'chemical smell' and the fears is expressed that officials do not disclose the sources of the pollution. 

They expressed the concerns that the main sources are local factories, but that no one wants to impose limits on the fumes they pump into the atmosphere, or force the use of new filters. One suspected source of the problem is a landfill where sawdust has been burning for five months at Yenisei Pulp and Paper Mill.

Yenisei Paper Mill


Yenisei Paper Mill

One suspected source of the problem is a landfill where sawdust has been burning for five months at Yenisei Pulp and Paper Mill. Pictures: Alexander Chernykh

The governor insisted that urgent action is underway to install 'new higher-quality equipment' leading to better pollution control by factories. 'These programmes will be controlled strictly, and if a company does not perform activities they would face sanctions stronger than envisaged by the environmental legislation,' he said. 'We have the political will, and I openly say this to all businesses.'

But some pollution was caused by stoves and fires necessary for heating private houses in the cold weather, he said. 'I cannot appeal to people and say, 'Listen, stop use the stove, because of a lot of emissions'. It will pass. When the cold weather ends, everything will be restored.'

Lately, Krasnoyarsk - a historic city founded in 1628 with a population of 1.04 million - has had typical winter temperatures of below minus 20C.

Comments (6)

Air pollution has unhealthy effects on people, animals and plant-life across the globe. Every time we inhale, we carry dangerous air pollutants into our bodies. These pollutants can cause short-term effects such as eye and throat irritation. More alarming, however, are the long-term effects such as cancer and damage to the body's immune, neurological, reproductive and respiratory systems.
Jahson Smith, USA
22/10/2019 18:29
1
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The only reason California, or any other city in developed countries perhaps has less pollution than before, is because the dirty industry has been exported to places like Krasnoyarsk. Does the industry there manufacture products for local markets?

The tactic of trying to shift blame onto citizens is cheap. If stopping the pollution cuts into profits then so what? Industry doesn't pay for the additional healthcare burden or the suffering of the people, it should pay to clean up it's pollution though.
Steve, Medway
17/04/2016 04:01
4
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Dang people. Come to Calif already. We will be glad to shoe you how it's done. Compare pictures from 1958 Los Angeles to pictures from today.
3x the population...yet 1.5% the polution. It was hard. We paid our taxes and aol cooperatef...and did the right thing. Now... (Seriously)... No more polluted days. (!). Join the club...it can be done.
Steven Bloxham California-Nevada-Arizona, Sacramento California
05/04/2016 15:08
1
3
It would be nice if these factories could be brought in to line with worlds best practice regarding pollution.



Still maybe this is the worlds best practice. LOL



Its beautiful place and potentially a big tourist destination.
Benny, Melbourne, Australia
02/03/2016 20:32
3
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Here's hoping that this problem can be fixed for Krasnoyarsk and other cities, both historic and more modern, in Siberia,
Rob, Stevenage, UK
20/02/2016 12:49
8
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The air looks like Southern California in the 1950's...60 years later, we still struggle with air quality.
ART DICKINSON, CLAREMONT, CALIFORNIA, USA
14/02/2016 01:00
5
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