Cold front ends Russia wildfire crisis

A cold front has hit western Russia, finally ending an exhausting two-month heatwave and clearing skies over Moscow from suffocating smog.

Colder temperatures and rains are expected to help firefighters put down the wildfires that have dogged Russia through the summer.

The emergency situations ministry said the amount of land on fire has been halved in the last 24 hours.

It said the area covered by blazes is now about a 20th of the territory covered earlier this month when wildfires were at their peak.

The worst heatwave for at least 130 years triggered thousands of wildfires and drought has cost Russia a third of its wheat crop, prompting the government to ban wheat exports through to the year's end.