Russians Escape Wildfire by Car

Perhaps the most affected country in the world by this year's heatwave, Russia is still battling temperatures which have become the highest since recording began 130 years ago. And the worse is apparently yet to come as some 589 wildfires burned throughout Russia this week.

According to official figures, 162,000 emergency workers have been called to arms to fight the fire, but despite their huge number, all they could do was sit by and watch fields and forests turn to ash. Some were even caught in the middle of the fires, as it happened with four men from the town of Vyksa, in Nizhny Novgorod Oblast, Russia.

The four had the inspiration to film this rare footage depicting their escape from the blazing inferno. Apparently, the four were part of the 162,000 people who are fighting the fires and were doing so in a village close to the town.

The blaze however trapped the four men in the village, as it engulfed the road. They tried to escape and they finally did, but not until the fire which surrounded them at one point scared the four to death.

Russian officials say 309,000 acres (125,000 hectares) are burning across Russia, leaving so far 4,000 people homeless and around 50 dead. The government decided today it will ban grain exports starting August 15, amidst skyrocketing prices on the local market.

Meanwhile, Moscow is indistinguishable from the air, being covered in a white blanket of smoke, which made sales of surgical masks reach record levels.

Officially, the Russian government blames the heat wave on global climate changes, being perhaps the first time a state official openly blames a disaster on global warming.