Western Romania: Thick smoke covers city of Timişoara for second day as wildfires rage in Serbia
A thick layer of smoke covered Timişoara on Friday, August 21, for the second consecutive day, following recent out-of-control wildfires in Serbia. In response, authorities recommended that residents stay indoors.
Thousands of hectares of forests and grassland have burned in the neighboring country in recent days, and smoke easily crossed into Romania. A day earlier, on Thursday, August 20, dozens of calls to the 112 emergency number from Timişoara and the county reported a strong smell of smoke, according to News.ro.
Sent to verify the surroundings, Romanian firefighters said that no fires were identified. “Based on the information available, the smoke observed in Timiş County could most likely originate from the large-scale dry vegetation fires in the Dubovac area, Serbia. Depending on weather conditions and wind direction, the smoke may also be felt in our county,” ISU Timiş said.
In recent days, no fewer than 45 vegetation fires have been recorded, with the most intense one in the sandy Deliblato area of Serbia, a nature reserve in the northeast of the country, where flames have burned approximately 3,500 hectares of vegetation.
Two other major active fires are in the Stolovi mountain area (Serbia), where approximately 200 hectares of forest and low vegetation have burned, and further south of it, where around 60 hectares of forest have burned.
Serbia has appealed to Russia for help in fighting forest fires due to the lack of aircraft available from the European Union, the country’s Interior Ministry announced. Serbia is not an EU member, but has access to EU emergency assistance through the European bloc’s Civil Protection Mechanism. This summer, Belgrade sent a firefighting helicopter and an emergency response team to help Spain fight forest fires under this mechanism, but forest fires across Europe have depleted EU resources.
Until the fires are extinguished, the Timiş Public Health Directorate recommended that the population close their windows and refrain from outdoor activities. “This situation may lead to an aggravation of respiratory symptoms, especially among vulnerable people with chronic respiratory conditions (bronchial asthma, etc.) and cardiovascular conditions,” DSP Timiş said.
Lead consultant in pulmonology in Timişoara, Cristian Oancea, provided further recommendations, noting that smoke from vegetation fires contains a mixture of fine particles and toxic gases that can affect the respiratory system, including in healthy people.
“One of the main dangers is represented by fine PM2.5 particles. Due to their very small size, they can penetrate deep into the respiratory tract and reach the level of the pulmonary alveoli. Even short-term exposure to high concentrations of smoke can irritate the eyes, nose and throat, cause coughing, runny nose, wheezing, a feeling of pressure in the chest or shortness of breath,” he said on Facebook.
Moreover, according to the doctor, smoke produced by fires can also contain carbon monoxide, a toxic gas that, at high concentrations, prevents the normal transport of oxygen in the body. “For people diagnosed with asthma, COPD, bronchiectasis, emphysema, pulmonary fibrosis or other chronic respiratory diseases, exposure to smoke can lead to worsening symptoms or the occurrence of an exacerbation. In severe cases, going to the emergency room or even hospitalization may be necessary,” he added.
Timiş County Council vice-president Alexandru Iovescu commented on the situation and said that Serbia has not yet requested the help of firefighters from Timiş County to extinguish the vegetation fires.
The official noted that the Environmental Guard has activated the sensors for monitoring air quality. “There is no reason to panic, but it is good to be careful and follow the recommendations of specialists. We are in contact with the responsible institutions and will communicate any important information,” Iovescu said.
(Photo source: Cristian Oancea on Facebook)
