This is the apocalyptic moment when the midday sun disappears from the sky after days of burning forest fires left the sky covered in ash and smoke.

Residents of the village of Kobyay in the Kobyaysky Rural Okrug of Kobyaysky District in the Sakha Republic of Russia were left cowering in their homes when the sky blackened as a result of the fires that have hit the region on 2nd August.

In broad daylight, the sun suddenly disappeared and as the footage shows it became dark as night. The footage when it happened was then widely shared on social networks where it was described as an apocalyptic scene.

The video shows the sky turning red-black and ash falling from the sky to the empty road.

According to the news website Life’s report, an eyewitness said: “Approximately at 1:30pm the sky suddenly became dark as night. We were very frightened. It became lighter after about an hour. Ashes were falling from the sky during that time.”

Life reported that the eyewitnesses associate this phenomenon with forest fires that have been raging in the republic for more than two weeks. At the same time, according to them, previously there were similar disasters in the region, but the sun never disappeared.

According to the news website NTV, rescuers and the military continue to fight the forest fires. About 2,000 people are participating in the extinguishing.

In total, 150 forest fires are reportedly active in Yakutia and the total area that is affected by the fires is about 500,000 hectares (1,235,525 acres).