Siberian wildfires send air pollution to northern Lapland

Fine particles have reached northern Finnish Lapland and Norway’s Finnmark region, worsening air quality, Yle reports. Meteorologists believe the pollution comes from wildfires in Siberia.

Pauli Jokinen, an on-call meteorologist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, said fine particles had travelled from Siberia in Russia towards northern Lapland on Friday and Saturday. Lars Andreas Selberg, a meteorologist interviewed by the Norwegian newspaper iFinnmark, also said wildfires in Russia could be behind the air pollution in northern Norway.

According to the Finnish Meteorological Institute, fine particles can travel thousands of kilometres with air masses.

iFinnmark reported particularly high levels of air pollution caused by particles smaller than 2.5 micrometres in eastern Finnmark. The area was marked red on an air pollution map, while pollution levels were low in western Finnmark and moderate in central Finnmark.

The newspaper said poor air quality in eastern Finnmark could pose health risks. People with asthma, respiratory diseases or cardiovascular diseases were advised to limit their time outdoors and physical activity in the areas with the highest pollution levels. Older people, pregnant women and children were also advised to avoid prolonged exposure.

According to iFinnmark, air quality was expected to improve during Sunday. Jokinen said he could not provide a more detailed assessment of air quality in northern Lapland. The Finnish Meteorological Institute’s northernmost air-quality monitoring station is in Kittilä, in western Lapland, where air quality was satisfactory on Saturday.