The consequences of Russia's hottest summer in 130 years, which has caused forest fires and severe drought, have been devastating. More than 50 people have died and thousands of people have lost their residences to fire.
The Russian government has banned cereal exports from Aug. 15 to Dec. 31, apparently to secure enough grain for domestic consumption. The ban covers such cereals as wheat, wheat flour, barley, rye and maze. If the harvest is bad, the ban may continue into next year. The current situation could have political implications for President Dmitry Medvedev and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin.
Russia is one of the world's top wheat producers. Of some 93 million tons of cereals Russia produced in 2009, some 58 million tons were wheat. President Medvedev said the heat wave and drought had destroyed some 25 percent of land used for cereal production. The Russian government has revised downward its forecast for this year's cereal harvest from 95 million tons to between 60 million and 65 million tons. It is reported that this may push down Russia's gross domestic product by 1 percent.