Spatial variations in the air turbidity factor above the European part of Russia under conditions of abnormal summer of 2010

We analyze spatial variations in the air turbidity factor T obtained from the interpolation of ground-based solar radiometry data within the territory (40°–70° N, 30°–60° E) in summer 2010. The abnormal heat and connected fires of summer 2010 changed the mean values of air turbidity and the character of its spatial variations. As a result, a “tongue” of increased values of the turbidity factor was observed in the south-to-north direction in July, and a closed region of anomalous high T was formed over the territory (48°–55° N, 37°–42° E) to the south of Moscow and partly covered the Moscow region in August. Such a pattern resulted from blockage preventing from ingress of air masses from the west and producing closed air circulation over the European Part of Russia (EPR).