Muscovites awoke this morning able to breathe normally for the first time in days as a light rain dispersed suffocating smoke from forest fires outside the Russian capital.
A day after the thick smog smothered the city, sending carbon monoxide levels soaring to twice the permissible levels, the air turned fresher.
The blanket of smog shut down incoming traffic temporarily at all three major airports yesterday and prompted warnings for people to stay indoors.
There had been fears that the Republic of Ireland's Euro 2004 soccer qualifier against Russia on Saturday would have to be postponed.
The Russian authorities have announced plans to step up efforts to put out the fires raging in peat bogs and forests in the region outside Moscow. A spokesman for the emergencies ministry said the number of firefighters would be doubled to 4,000.
A fire-fighting Ilyushin Il-76 plane that is the largest of its kind in the world, and helicopters are being used to douse the flames.
In total, 188 separate fires have been identified in the Moscow region.
AFP