A Russian government interdepartmental working group headed by Deputy Prime Minister Viktor Zubkov will discuss on Friday measures to overcome consequences of the lasting drought in Russia, a source in the government said.
For the past four weeks temperatures across western Russia have topped 35 degrees Celsius (95 degrees Fahrenheit), killing scores of people and creating what is thought to be the worst drought in the country since 1972.
Many farmers are on the brink of bankruptcy, while a state of emergency has been declared in 23 Russian regions. Nearly 10 million hectares of crops have been destroyed by drought.
The group's session will include a videoconference with the heads of the regions that declared the state of emergency.
With a request of 40 billion rubles ($1.3 billion) in aid for stricken regions from the Russian Grain Union and an inevitable rise in food prices, the government has a tough job tod do.
In March, following the 2009 Copenhagen Summit, Russian President Dmitry Medvedev called for tougher environmental restrictions, ordering the government to act on the national climate doctrine approved at the summit.
MOSCOW, July 23 (RIA Novosti)
