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Physicians have urged Muscovites to avoid leaving their homes. They warn that breathing the toxic air for just a couple of hours has the same harmful effect as smoking two packs of cigarettes.The U.S. State Department is allowing nonessential staff and dependents of the embassy in Moscow to leave if they want. Carbon monoxide in the Moscow air was 1.4 times higher than acceptable levels Tuesday, the state pollution watchdog said, a slight improvement from the day before. On Saturday the levels had been an alarming 6.6 times worse. The Canadian government has also initiated a partial evacuation of embassy staff and family members from Moscow due to the choking smog caused by raging fires around Russia's capital. Foreign Ministries of Germany, Bulgaria, France, Italy and other countries also appealed to their citizens not to travel to Russia.
Comment: Footage of the fires in Portugal from Russia Today: