Russia reduces wildfire area by half

The total area of the wildfires in central Russia has halved in the last 24 hours but there are still hundreds of wildfires raging, the emergencies ministry said on Wednesday.

The total area of the wildfires in central Russia has halved in the last 24 hours but there are still hundreds of wildfires raging, the emergencies ministry said on Wednesday.

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Fires covering an area of 92,700 hectares (more than 350 square miles) were blazing in Russia, almost half of Tuesday's figure of 174,000 hectares, it said in a statement quoted by Russian news agencies.

But 612 fires were still ablaze, up from 557 reported on Tuesday.