On 17 April 2020, the U.K. Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) issued updated travel advice for Ukraine, which reads in part as follows:
“On 16 April the Kyiv city authorities reported dangerous levels of air pollution as a result of forest fires in Zhytomyr region and the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone. They advised people to keep windows closed, minimise the time spent out of doors, turn on air conditioning and air purification systems, wash down floors and other surfaces, put containers with water around to increase humidity and drink up to 2-3 litres of water per day. Radiation in the city was reportedly at normal levels.”
Analyst Comment: Emergency personnel reported on 14 April that several wildfires burning in the forested western portion of the largely unpopulated Chernobyl exclusion zone in northern Ukraine had been contained. Authorities attributed the cause of the fires — which initially broke out on 3 April — to arson, noting that conditions were exacerbated by unseasonably dry weather. Individuals in Kyiv and throughout north and central Ukraine should continue to monitor air quality levels.
