Planes seed clouds to calm raging wildfires

Russian planes seeded clouds to bring down rain on huge wildfires raging in the Siberian region of Yakutia, said authorities on Monday. Fires have flared across Russia amid a heat wave, tearing through over 1.5 million hectares of land in Yakutia, the worst-hit region. In one part of Yakutia, the fires had even spread dangerously close to a hydroelectric power plant. On Sunday, officials told people to stay indoors and keep their windows shut due to the smoke. The regional capital Yakutsk, sometimes known as the planet’s coldest city, was forced to suspend flights at its airport due to bad visibility.