Heat forces nearly one-third Russians to behave inappropriately
August 5th, 2010 - 1:24 am ICT by IANSMoscow, Aug 4 (IANS/RIA Novosti) About 30 percent people in Russia have begun panicky behaviour during the heat wave and fires across the country, a leading psychiatrist said Wednesday.
About 30 percent believe the end of the world is coming and involuntarily panic, said Zurab Keklidze, the acting director of the Serbsky National Center for Social and Forensic Psychiatry.
“These people believe the heat would reach not 40 degrees Celsius, but 60 degrees Celsius. They exaggerate, saying it is divine retribution and a sign of Doomsday and begin sparking lots of rumours,” Keklidze said.
Nearly 70 percent of the Russians take the situation with the heat wave normally, some 15 percent ignore the heat altogether.
Some psychologists have noted that the abnormal heat has provoked a wave of strange phobias. Some people are afraid to lose the roof over their head, others are afraid of being suffocated by poisonous smog while they are sleeping at night, and for that reason just avoid sleeping at night.
A scorching heat wave has gripped much of European Russia since mid-June, sparking wildfires and causing the worst drought in decades.
–IANS/RIA Novosti
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