For the forest firesthe town of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in southeastern Bolivia, is affected by a blanket of smoke that today left the entire city “in darkness”. Since last Monday they had to suspend classes “due to the density of the air.” They associate the drought that is plaguing the country as another determining factor in the worsening of the situation.
Since the beginning of the week, around 16 incendiary outbreaks have been recorded in the departments of Santa Cruz, La Paz, El Beni and Cochabambawhich add up at high temperatures who already step on the 38 degreesBesides of water deficit that registers part of that country, a situation that complicates even more the work of the fire fighting brigades.
Hundreds of firefighters, with the help of tanker helicopters, continue to strengthen the work to put out the fire that continues to affect the surroundings of the economic capital of the country that, with the flames and smoke, seems disfigured by the heat.
Fires in Bolivia: classes suspended in schools
As a result of pollution from smoke, the government decreed this week “the suspension of all activities educational institutions in several cities in Bolivia.” And they assure that the measure could extend to the following days.
In total they are “3,650 educational units that are being affected, or that they suspended classes due to the contamination,” declared the Bolivian Minister of Education, Edgar Parythe majority in Santa Cruz and highlighted that this figure represents 15% from schools across the country.
“We had to suspend classes to protect the health of the students,” said Danny Ardaya, director of the Educational Unit Lucas Casaertlocated in the center of Santa Cruz.
Drought and high temperatures, the two evils that plague Bolivia
“This week we had quite high temperatures. The maximum that was reached “It was 40.2 degrees in Santa Cruz” according to meteorologist Cristina Chirinos, also detailing that “the last days” were “the hottest of this centuryeven surpassing the record of 38 Degrees of 2004″.
“More than a thousand firefighters are fighting the fire in various parts of the countryas he maintained Deputy Minister of Civil Defense, Juan Carlos Calvimontes. Likewise, the Bolivian authorities assured that four helicopters of the Armed Forces, with the system Bambi Bucketare “supporting the work of the brigade members in Santa Cruz and the north of La Paz.”
In Cochabamba, one of the departments most affected by the drought, the military came to enable a Hercules C-130 aircraft to shoot a silver iodide compound, in order to “encourage rain”. And President Luis Arce assured that “was carried out successfully the stimulation of clouds, with the launching of silver iodide cartridges”.
This year 2,012,252 hectares were burned in Boliviaof which 23% corresponds to forests, while the rest to grasslandsa figure that according to authorities is below past records.
Source: Ambito
