MOSCOW, Aug. 12 (UPI) -- It could take as long as 300 years for the forests scorched by wildfires in central Russia to recover fully, a forest ecologist said.
Russia is in the grips of the hottest summer on record with parts of the country suffering under temperatures of more than 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The resulting drought and crop loss has cost the Russian economy around $15 billion and led Moscow to halt grain exports for the remainder of the year.