A bear was reportedly seen about 34 km from Yakutsk near a gas pipeline. Officials confirmed the report but, with no damage reported and the animal not found, no culling decision will be made.

Photos taken by a local reporter show Vilyuyskoye Cemetery in Yakutsk remains flooded due to inadequate drainage, with more rain forecast to worsen the situation.

The total area of active forest fires in the Sakha Republic (Yakutia) grew from 265 ha to 1,462.5 ha on July 22, with 10 fires being fought by 306 personnel and 14 units of equipment.

Sakha is now the fourth region in the Far East where a state of emergency is currently in place due to wildfires. The other three are the Zabaykalsky and Amur regions, as well as the republic of Buryatia. Russia’s wildfire season officially began in early March. By mid-April, regions in the Far East recorded nearly twice as many fires as they had during the same period last year, with most blazes caused by human negligence.

The world’s coldest city is on course to be up to 20C milder than usual for this time of year, says the scientific director of Russia's Hydrometeorological Center, Roman Vilfand. The streams of warm air from the south and west determine this situation.

The driest summer in 150 years has turned Yakutia into a tinderbox and seen wildfires tear through the region.

The lengthy wildfire season follows a record-hot Arctic summer. People living in Yakutsk are waking up to heavy smog brought from the wildfires raging to the west, east and north; struggling to breathe and with head, eye and throat aches.

Gallery | The forest fires have covered an area larger than Greece and are emitting black smog that harms nearby populations.

Usually one of the most full flowing in Russia, the river tends to drop the level twice a year - but not by a catastrophic 2-2.5 meters as this year.

Thick ice and heavy spring floods combines to cause severe flooding in Yakutia. Specialists numbering around 100 have been moved from Baikal Search and Rescue Unit (Irkutsk region) and the Siberian Rescue Centre (Novosibirsk region) have been moved the the stricken region.

Fires have wreaked havoc this summer with Yakutia and the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous the latest to be hard hit.