the first medals of the tokyo olympics have been awarded, and there are more to be won today. we're live in japan. plus this -- anti-lockdown protesters clashed with police in australia as the virus surges in hot spots like the u.s. and the uk. and raging wildfires in the western u.s. it's just one part of the world that's fighting the flames. welcome to all of you watching here in the united states and around the world.

i'm alison kosik in new york, and this is "cnn newsroom." olympic competitions are in full swing in tokyo with the long-awaited start of the 2020 summer games. china has claimed the first two gold medals in women's ten-meter air rifle and women's a's weightlifting. even as fireworks opened the games the virus that stopped them a year ago remains as dangerous as ever. officials have documented 127 cases connected to the games including 17 in the past day. a dutch rower and portuguese surfer are latest forced out by a positive test. cnn is live in japan, and "world sport" from atlanta. hello, let's start with, blake. i know that you are at one of

the few places japanese people can actually go to watch. talk about what they're saying. >> reporter: you know, it's not what anyone was hoping for, but some people want to experience the olympic atmosphere any way possible. for the people behind me, it means sitting in an auditorium on a beautiful day here to watch the games on a big screen and experience that olympic spirit as a community. and while they can't vocalize their excitement, it hasn't stopped them from making a lot of noise by using paper and this wood instrument to cheer on competitors. they're also holding up signs like this, says "go, japan," when the competitors have been on the screen going up -- a big hill, people holding signs, banging those wood clappers. the atmosphere here is honestly pretty exciting. this is one of the only live viewing public sites in the country. 2,000 people applied.

given social distancing requirements, only 500 received tickets to be herement with covid-19 cases surging in tokyo and rising nationwide, public viewings are incredibly rare. spectators have also been banned from 88% of olympic venues and 97% of all competitions. one of the few events that fans can watch in person is the cycling road race which is happening right now. and it will finish here near the base of mt. fuji. that's what people are watching on the big screen. while it isn't perfect, finally after one year a delay and months of uncertainty rfegardin whether the games would happen, the tokyo olympics are under way and it started with naomi osaka and a watershed moment. >> translator: i think naomi osaka was the best choice to be the last kotorch bearer because she's one of the world's top athletes. she's also mixed race and has faced a lot of challenges. it's amazing she can represent

japan like this. it sends out a great message from here to the world. >> and the fact that naomi osaka, a mixed race person, was the one to light the olympic flame is incredibly significant here in japan. japan is considered one of the most racially homogenous countries in the world, but the country is lowly shifting views on identity. and a moment like this, what we saw last night, shows how the society is adapting to changing times. >> all right, blake, thanks. let's talk about some of the competition so farme. i know there are more events coming up, the gold medals being awarded. tell us all about it. >> reporter: yeah. certainly mostly gold, gold, gold, three of them now we know on this day. a great one so far for china. earlier in the women's ten-meter air rifle contest. 251.8 points is an absolute

olympic record for a final, too. terrific achievement. at just 21 years of age. and a short while ago, as well, china had a second gold medal in the tokyo games with the women's weightlifting 49-kilogram final, the olympic record total of 210 kilograms. and in the men's ten-meter air pistol contest, gold for iran. at 41, he's the oldest medal winner for his country at the olympics. a new final record scored, too. busy, busy saturday. we've got other stuff going on and plenty of it. we've got the three-on-three basketball, the men's and women's in there, and in the pool, as well, for a batch of swimming heats. much to look forward to. >> like you said, a better saturday in progress. what else is catching your attention? >> i like the look of the world champions, the usa in action. america's women's football team. all conquering football team or urgely anyway. they're tale on new zealand

later looking to recover after the loss to sweden, 3-0 for the swedes. plenty for the likes of meganera pane oh, and try -- megan rapinoe, and trying to turn it around. and the u.s. was eliminated from the 2016 games in brazil at the quarterfinal stage. i won't particularly surprised by fact that sweden did have the capacity to shock the americans. but the 3-0 victory, margin of victory was pretty emphatic, wasn't it? >> i'll tell you what, if you weren't excited about the games before, i think listening to you, i think we could all get excited. patrick, thank you so much. new coronavirus infections are rising at an alarming rate. cases on the rise in all 50 states. look at the states in deep red on this map. less than 50% of the population is fully vaccinated. and health experts say the rapid spread of the delta variant is making vaccinations even more important. cnn's athena jones reports.

>> reporter: as the biggest public health crisis in a century threatens to get a lot worse, the warnings to the unvaccinated are getting stronger. in alabama, the state with the lowest vaccination rate in the country, 34% -- >> the new cases in covid because of unvaccinated folks. it's time for them to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. the unvaccinated folks are letting us down. >> reporter: governor ivy is fed up. >> these folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain. >> what is it going to take to get people to get shots in arms? >> i don't know. you tell me. folks supposed to have common sense. >> reporter: as the more contagious delta variant super charges covid-19's spread, especially in places with low vaccination rates, the country is averaging more cases a day during the first cases in 2020. cases up 65% over just last

week. almost four times higher than a month ago. covid hospitalizations rising nearly 30% nationwide in just the past seven days. almost all among the unvaccinated. and with the daily pace of vaccinations at the lowest point since january, doctors and government officials are begging the unvaccinated to protect themselves. >> it seems like we're fighting a losing battle here. >> reporter: as experts warn the more the virus circulates among the unvaccinated, the greater the chance of breakthrough infections among those who are fully vaccinated. still, doctors stress -- >> there are some breakthrough infections. i'm seeing them, but it's mild illness then. so that's a huge difference. and that's what vaccines do. >> reporter: and with millions of children set to head back to school, a cnn analysis finds less than a third of eligible kids are on track to be fully vaccinated against covid in the next two weeks. while public schools in atlanta, washington, d.c., and chicago are mandating masks for everyone -- >> we parents should have the right to choose whether or not our kids are suffocated by these

masks all day. >> reporter: debates over masking in schools becoming heated from virginia to illinois. >> you are simply making decisions based on your own fears. >> the experts have spoken. i would like the school board to continue universal masking. >> reporter: experts argue -- >> we have to be honest that we're asking people who are fully vaccinated basically to sacrifice because it's so hard to enforce vaccination -- mask wearing based on vaccination status. >> reporter: along with alabama, mississippi is the only other state to have fully vaccinated 35% of its resident. there have been 5 additional people hospitalized -- 500 additional people hospitalized, up 64% from the week before according to the latest report from the white house covid-19 response team. athena jones, cnn, new york. coming up on "cnn newsroom," the uk government is taking a major gamble by lifting covid restrictions across the country. why some are calling it unethical and dangerous coming

up. plus, 29 athletes in tokyo aren't trying to win honor and medals for their countries, but for the millions of refugees around the world. their stories ahead. our new scented oils give you our best smelling scents. now crafted with more natural ingredients and infused with essential oils that are 100% natural. give us one plug and connect to nature.

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the uk government is once again coming under fire for how it's handled the coronavirus pandemic. some scientists are calling the decision to lift covid restrictions despite high infection rates, dangerous and unethical. now prime minister johnson is pleading with citizens to stay safe. cnn's scott mclean has the latest from london. prime minister, just a moment -- this week prime minister boris johnson showed up in parliament remotely. he's sielf-isolating after his health secretary tested positive for covid. the opposition leader was forced to quarantine, too, after a separate possible exposure not long after he stood in parliament to see this -- >> i can't believe that the prime minister doesn't see the irony of him spreading freedom -- spending freedom day locked in isolation. mr. speaker, when it comes to creating confusion, the prime minister is a superspreader. >> reporter: the prime minister also managed to spread anger and

outrage. thousands of doctors and scientists from the uk, and abroad signed a letter calling his plans to lift almost all restrictions in england a dangerous and unethical experiment. that experiment involved ditching masks, limits on social gatherings, and even letting festivals restart. >> a lot of us have had at least the first dose of the vaccine. so we're ready to get back to life. >> reporter: hours after it began, johnson was pleading with people to be careful. >> please, please, please, be cautious. >> reporter: and for good reason. the uk has the most new confirmed daily infections on earth. despite two-thirds of the adult population being fully vaccinated and almost 90% having at least one shot. hundreds of thousands of people are being forced to self-isolate, and some british industries are warning that staff shortages could lead toed if and fuel shortages -- lead to food and fuel shortages. there are empty shelves in parts of the country. the u.s. state department is even warning americans to stay away. >> the u.s. was entirely right

-- more countries should be more cautious about their citizens coming to the uk. >> reporter: virtually all new cases in the uk are the faster spreading delta variant which was first spotted in india. in april, mandatory hotel quarantine was imposed on travelers coming in from neighboring bangladesh and pakistan. but those coming from india didn't face the same restrictions until two weeks later. critics say it was too little, too late. >> a very major mistake. one they should have avoided because they'd been warned about it repeatedly. britain has an island advantage, but it didn't choose to take advantage of that. >> reporter: for weeks, johnson's government has defended its plan to lift remaining restrictions by asking -- >> if not now, when? >> reporter: while cases are high, the vaccine has helped keep deaths and hospitalizations relatively low compared to the january peak. according to government data, most people ending up in hospital are under 50. staggering 93% of them are not fully vaccinated or not

vaccinated at all. for some, it wasn't by choice. while the uk's vaccine rollout was one the envy -- was once the envy of the world it's been slow to vaccinate young people. the government is imposing a 12-week gap between doses. some colleges offering people the second dose earlier were told by health authorities to turn people away instead. >> was just refused to get my second shot. and the reason was given to me was primarily because i'm three days short of reaching the eight weeks. >> reporter: this just as a recent study in the journal "nature" found a single dose gives precious little protection against the delta variant, leaving millions of young people exposed. while the u.s., canada, and europe have allowed vaccinations of kids over 12 regardless of their circumstances, the uk so far does not plan on following suit. since the pandemic began,

johnson's decisionmaking has been marked by a dizzying series of u-turns on lockdowns, masks, and mandatory quarantine for incoming travelers. just last week the government promised fully vaccinated brits could return from all countries on its amber list without quarantine. before announcing different results just for france. >> the most serious problem i have with this government is their complete absence of a plan, of a strategy, and an inability to explain what they're trying to do and where they're trying to get to. they are making it up as they go along. >> reporter: perhaps worst of all government scientists have also warned that the combination of high prevalence and levels of vaccination croats the conditions in which an immune escape variant is most likely to emerge. how likely is that, scientists don't know. brits who are just starting to get back to normal life are hoping they never have to find out. scott mclean, cnn, london. covid cases are surging in many southeast asian nations, as

well. also driven by the more transmissible delta variant. we're tracking developments across the region and have more from hong kong. anna, great to see you. you look at how the first year of the pandemic and how the region did. it seemed to do better than the rest of the world, but now that's changed because of the delta variant. >> reporter: that's absolutely right. there's been an explosion of cases here in asia, and governments are really scrambling. let's look at what's happening in australia right now. this have been thousands protesting on the streets of sydney and medilbourne against e lockdown. there have been dozens of arrests. this happening as new south whales reports 163 cases, 136 yesterday. there's flow den -- no denying that the delta variant is taking

hold in australia. but look at the vaccination rate. it is just over 11%, and the government admits that the vaccine rollout has been woeful. but this has been a problem for many countries in this region. a taxi graveyard. the colorful cars now sitting idle in a field. there are fewer customers these days as new cases of coronavirus in thailand reach record highs. for those lucky enough to pick up a fare, it's no longer a routine ride. >> translator: we have passengers getting on and off our cars every day, and we don't know if they're at risk or not. we need to protect ourselves, and the passengers also need to protect themselves. both sides are just scared. >> reporter: those fears keeping more people at home. volunteers bring food to those isolated along bangkok's canals.

the government says there is a shortage of vaccines along with the surge of infections, the supplies just one of the obstacles preventing people from getting the shots. >> translator: i can't go. i only stay like this because if i go for a vaccination, i'd have to take a boat, walk, and commute by car. i have no money to spend for that. >> reporter: experts say vaccines are a critical weapon in fighting this outbreak that has spread across asia. some health care workers in india hiking into the remote countryside to dole out the doses. >> translator: they moved door to door in my village, collected swabs for testing, and gave vaccines to the villagers. our village is a tribal village, and no one visits here. >> reporter: vietnam is also trying to accelerate its vaccination program. as cases sharply rise there, too. the outbreak in ho chi minh city so bad that soldiers in hazmat suits hosed down the streets

with disinfectant. but even as countries across southeast asia tighten their covid-19 restrictions, the virus still seems to be a step ahead. in one of the hardest hit nations, indonesia, the death toll crossed 1,500 a day for the first time during the pandemic. singapore says even the vaccinate read impacted. government data over the past four weeks shows that vaccinated people made up three quarters of new infections, though they did not become seriously ill. the empty streets of sydney, australia, a sign a lockdown is in effect but with cases still rising, some officials say it's not enough. >> we need a ring of steel around sydney so that this virus is not spreading into other parts of our nation. >> reporter: but spreading is what this virus does very efficiently. so much so the state of new south wales asked the federal government for more vaccines. a request that was denied.

prime minister scott morrison saying it would disrupt the evacuation program for the rest of the country. so without doubt indonesia has become the epicenter of the make here in asia overtaking india. the official death count stands at over 80,000. but experts believe that the true number is much higher. >> anna corrine, thank you. new data from israel's health ministry suggest the pfizer vaccine has limited efficacy against the delta covid variant. it's 39% effective in general but 91% effective in preventing severe disease. experts say it's still too early to draw any firm conclusions from that, and other studies have suggested pfizer is far more effective against the variant. as we report, delta is creating

a new challenge for israel. >> reporter: 26,000 fans flooded into bloomfield stadium in tel aviv this week to see legends on the field. the excitement and revelry overshadowing an underlying possibility that such a crowded event could lead to a spaike in coronavirus cases. >> it's everyone, you can't stay at home. but here we are protected now. >> i'm kind of nervous, but i'm trying to live me life as much as possible before it hits. it is worth the risk. yeah, the government should not let people do this, but it's worth the risk. >> the game is more important. >> reporter: thanks to an aggressive vaccination campaign, the israeli government had lifted almost all of its covid restrictions. after nearly three month of fewer than 200 positive cases a day, the delta variant causing a

new spike in cases including some of the vaccinated. for the first time in months, the daily average nearing 1,000 cases a day. but with about 65% of the population either vaccinated or having recovered from the disease, professor iran sagle of the whitesman institute says there is good news. >> we're seeing a lower conversion rate from cases to severely ill. we are also seeing that those who become severely ill are less in a critical condition as compared to the third wave. all of that means that it will require a much larger number of cases to happen here in order for us to again fill up the hospitals and, i think, that makes it for a very realistic possibility that this wave will be stopped through another increase of more people that we can get vaccinated. potentially a third booster. and some very small measures like the green batch. >> reporter: a key to stopping

the fourth wave is vaccinating the 13% of the israeli population that is eligible but still hasn't received a shot. even this alone won't be enough according to the prime minister. >> trans later: the main line is that we expect the citizens to get vaccinated because the vaccines work. are they perfect, no. against the delta mutation, they alone are not enough. this is the problem. however, vaccines together with masks alongside responsible behavior, that works. >> reporter: the government says it is now clamping down on restrictions. police issuing fines for those who fail to wear masks indoors, and criminally charging people who test positive but flout quarantine rules. all as part of an effort to keep the worst of this new wave at bay. so that stadiums like this won't once again stand empty for months. the israeli government is trying to avoid the sort of strict lockdowns that dominated the

past year and a half, allowing a sense of normalcy to continue with games like this. the super cup is expected to take place at the stadium and israelis are hoping the case numbers don't rise so high that the games are called off. coming up on cnn, covid-19 has been robbing olympic athletes of the spotlight. but now might be their chance to take it back. we'll talk about whether there's room for optimism at this year's games. plus, an olympic team created out of tragedy and displacement. how the refugee team is offering a source of hope for millions around the world.

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welcome back to our viewers in the united states and around the world. i'm alison kosik, and this is "cnn newsroom." china has won its second gold in the olympics and claimed medals in women's waste lifting and shooting. and iran has its first gold in men's shooting. even in victory the coronavirus is making its mark. athletes are under strict coronavirus rules, having to mask up in the medals ceremonies. and having to practice social distancing. despite all the coronavirus fears and anti-olympic protests, the ioc president says friday's opening ceremony was a moment of hope. not everyone agrees. will ripley reports.

>> reporter: the official opening of the tokyo summer games, a ceremony that tried to look familiar but felt so different. hundreds of drones forming a global over the olympic stadium, celebrating one world united in sport under the shadow of a pandemic. the stadium eerily empty as flag bearers proudly represented their countries. cheering them on, a handful of visiting dignitaries, u.s. first lady jill biden, french president macron, among the athletes some familiar faces and well-oiled physiques. the tong an flag bearer famous from rio and south korea. basketball star and four time medalist sue bird and eddy alvarez. outside the ceremony, japanese protesters calling for the games to be canceled fearing the olympics will become a covid-19

superspreader event. fears fueled by rising cases in the host city. daily numbers hitting almost 2,000 this week, a six-month high. olympic dreams dashed for more than 20 athletes so far testing positive or being placed in the covid-19 protocol including five members from team usa. most taking the covid proet columbus and lack of fans -- protocols and lack of fans in stride. >> when you're lined up with the best of the world you're not worried about the stands or the people there. you're worried about going out and competing to the best of your ability. >> reporter: despite the oly olympics' first ever spectator ban, some are making the most of it. some watching the opening ceremony from outside the stadium. >> i was so moved in my heart. so yeah, that's so special. >> reporter: closing out the opening ceremony, the reveal of the torch bearer to light the caldron. four-time grand slam women's

tennis champion naomi osaka. in recent months facing her own very public mental health challenges. perhaps the perfect representative for the 32nd olympiad. overcoming postponement and a pandemic to showcase the triumph of the olympic spirit. will ripley, cnn, tokyo. one group of remarkable athletes isn't representing any individual nation. members of the refugee olympic team will be providing a vision of hope and inclusion for the millions of displaced people around the world. athletes from syria, congo, south sudan, venezuela, and other countries will be united at the tokyo games under the same olympic flag. the team is comprised of 29 athletes in 12 sports. the first time the refugee olympic team competed, it was at the 2016 rio games. phillip barker is an olympic historian with inside the games

and joins me live from tokyo. thanks for your time today. >> good afternoon from tokyo. >> hello. i want to hear what goes into the selection process to create the refugee olympic team? >> well, it's gone back -- it used to be the olympic rules used to be that if you didn't have a national olympic committee, you weren't able to take part. and this excluded a lot of people. over the last 10, 15 years, there's been a realization that there are so many displaced people that they decided to create this, as you say, for rio in 2016. it was a very small team then. it's mushroomed now, about three times the size -- about 29 athletes making up the team. not all of them necessarily would have marched in the ceremony because of covid. but they -- they've got about 29, and they are chosen, a lot of them received scholarships in the countries that they've moved to and are given help as they coordinate -- as a coordinating

person, a former long distance runner, and she actually looks after the sdpteam and acts as tr mother, they call her. she gives advice on how to compete, what to do, eating the right things, that sort of thing. and basically managing their time. and then they go off to training camps together. they've been in qatar, and here they are now hopefully ready to compete. >> yeah. you know, for this refugee olympic team, this isn't just about winning. than they don't want -- than they don't want to win, of course they want to win, but there's a greater significance behind the team. it's very powerful. the message that the team is sending and what they represent. talk about that. >> that's right. you know, the whole thing is the ethos of the olympic games is they often get it wrong -- the important thing in the olympic games is not so much the winning but the taking part, and it's that not so much -- yes, everybody's trying to win and the refugee guys and the men and

women will be trying to win at the games, and they will be beginning it their best shot. no refugee has yet won a gold medal. but that's, of course, the dream. if that were to happen that would be an inspiration to others. and it is -- it is something that has the power to inspire because everybody will be looking at these athletes. people in displaced camps before the 2016 games, they actually had a torch bearer in one of the refugee camps in athens at the camp. and i was there to see him run with the torch and all the children were out and could see all the event going on. yes, it was a diversion, but maybe in a few years' time they'll remember that moment. the statement here if they're somewhere they can watch somebody else like me and they're achieving the olympic games. and they're fueling their dreams. it does have a very strong inspirational message. >> it certainly does. i know that you are in tokyo obviously, you're stuck in your

hotel room for 14 days because you were pinged by a covid tracking and tracing app. how are you feeling? >> i'm fine. i'm fine. we british say that we have our stiff upper lip, and we carry on as long as you've got a cup of tea there. it doesn't matter. and thankfully, thanks to the british olympic association who sent me a goody bag full of cereals and coffee and, most important, tea bags, i was running out, i'm not stressed at all. once you've got a cup of tea, that really does solve everything at all times of the day. the stereotype is true, you see -- but no. to be serious, yes, it isn't pleasant being in a hotel room and knowing that the greatest show on earth, albeit without spectators is going on around you. what i'm going to be particularly interested to see is this artificial wall of sound that they're going to create at every venue which thomas bachus called the vibe of the world. sound effects coming in. we've had it on television for

football matches ever since the football and other sports started. i'm going to be intrigued how it works in the stadium. so that's probably the thing i'm looking forward to actually mostly to seeing them from next week onwards. but i would like to see the refugee team. i'd love to see them get a medal because i think that will be so powerful for everybody else. and you know, we have something in the olympics called the youth olympic games, 14 to 18-year-olds. there's a strong movement that when they're in senegal next time in 2026, there will be a youth olympic refugee team, as well, to give the youngsters some chance of participating and taking -- and sharing the sport. >> uh-huh. all right. filler barker, glad you're -- phillip barker, glad you're feeling well. thanks for joining us on the show. >> thank you. american adults who had months of opportunities to get vaccinated and yet half the country still has not done it. now both the white house and some republican leaders have

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health experts say the delta variant is driving a dangerous surge in u.s. covid infections. over the past week, new covid infections are up 50% or more in the majority of states according to johns hopkins university. increases are being felt especially hard in southeastern states like alabama which has the lowest vaccination rate in the entire country. only about 34% of the population there is fully vaccinated. u.s. president joe biden is acknowledging the effort of some republican governors trying to combat vaccine hesitancy even over the shouting of protesters on friday. mr. biden implored americans to set aside politics and get

vaccinated. >> the covid-19 deaths and hospitalizations are today among the unvaccinated people. and i know -- i know it's gotten politicized. i hope it's starting to change. it's not about red state or blue states or guys like that, it's about life and about death. >> the number of american deaths is ticking up again while the rate of vaccinations is lagging. cnn's kaitlan collins picks up the story. >> reporter: a new sense of urgency in the white house tonight as the u.s. enters a troubling phase of the pandemic with officials nationwide voicing concern. >> we understand the frustrations of leaders out there and public voices who are trying to say the right thing. save people in their communities. >> reporter: more than half the nation remains unvaccinated allowing the highly infectious delta variant to spread like wildfire. >> we have long said that's not

enough. we need to ensure more people and more communities are vaccinated. >> reporter: president biden and his top aides are worried the gains they've made are being erased, while issuing blunt warnings from the white house podium to the millions who remain unvaccinated. >> other communities where there's 40%, 50%, or otherwise, that's not just a health issue, it's an economic issue. >> reporter: new cases, hospitalizations, and deaths are a fraction of what they were before vaccinations. but the numbers are still rising quickly. the u.s. is now averaging 43,000 new cases per day, a 65% increase over the last week with cases topping 40,000 for the first time since may, and 250 new deaths each day almost entirely among the unvaccinated. officials say the current surge from delta could have been avoided with one health official telling cnn "we are seeing the consequences of what we've been warning about, it's serious, and it's spreading faster than was

anticipated." booster shots aren't currently recommended by the fda, but the u.s. government has now purchased an additional 200 million doses of pfizer's vaccine just in case. >> here's the bottom line -- we've always prepared for every scenario. we dent know if we'll -- we don't know if we'll need a booster shot. >> reporter: governors outright pleading with resident to get the shot. >> you've got to get vaccinated now. and so -- all i would say is this delta thing is coming. >> unvaccinated missourians are the primary target of the new strain. >> reporter: alabama one of the hardest hit and now the least vaccinated state in the u.s. only 33.9% of residents are fully vaccinated as cases are double what they were a week ago. alabama's republican governor says she knows who to blame -- >> the new cases in covid are because of unvaccinated folks. >> reporter: what is it going to take to get people to get shots in arms?

>> i don't know. you tell me. folks supposed to have common sense. but it's time for them to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the regular folks. it's the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down. >> reporter: when the white house press secretary was asked if they would take a similar approach to what you saw from alabama governor kay ivy, blaming the unvaccinated for what we are seeing happening with these outbreaks, she said she doesn't believe it's their position to place blame on people, but they're going to make sure they're getting accurate information about the vaccines out. kaitlan collins, cnn, the white house. thousands of firefighters across the united states are battling dozens of wildfires. the bootleg fire in oregon has burned more than 400,000 acres and is still growing. we get the latest from the cnn weather center when we come back.

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support personnel are working tirelessly to put them out. you're looking at some of those firefighters caught in the middle of a fast-moving blaze in nevada. they say it was, quote, a close call. and it's not just here in the u.s. devastating wildfires are now raging through areas that rarely burned before all across the northern hemisphere. as tom sader reports, climate change has a lot to do with it. >> reporter: this is known as one of the world's coldest cities -- now wildfires near russia, siberia, blanket the area in smoky haze. from above, russian military dropped water hoping to douse the flames below as they tear through some 800,000 hectares of force. in the western u.s., measures taken to battle fighters, dousing the tracks and

surrounding area with water from a moving train in hopes of stopping northern california's dixie fire from spreading. further north, the bootleg fire in oregon is growing with incredible speed, becoming so intense that it's creating its own weather formation. >> what is very clear is that no corner of our state is immune to fire. on the west coast and here in oregon, the urgent and dangerous climate crisis has exacerbated conditions on the ground. >> reporter: canada, the western u.s., and russia fighting massive fires. all seeing firsthand what scientists have warned about for years. according to the climate change service, those regions also experienced a drier than average june, turning their forest to tinderboxes. now fires raging in those regions are releasing environment polluting aerosols into the air. just one of the ways the blazes could be accelerating global warming. as once periodic wildfires

become more frequent and extreme than ever before. tom sader, cnn. let's go street to meteorologist derek van dam. any relief in sight for some of the fires burning now? >> well, unfortunately no. the drought continues, the heat continues, and it's only going to build throughout the course of the week. so often something that's overlooked is the impacts of the smoke and how far reaching that smoke can travel. we're talking about over 1,500 miles from the west coast to the east coast. this is what a typical day looks like downtown manhattan. this is what it looked like in the middle of the week this week. they had the worst quality of air in 15 years for the big apple. quite a difference. and it was visible from satellite, as well. you can see the brown haze. this is a particular satellite imagery that picks up on the smoke. and that is from the wildfires that are burning across southern california -- southern canada and the western u.s. this is a smoke forecast. and you can see this will

continue to tryst over the great lakes -- drift over the great lakes, even into the southeast and mid-atlantic and new england through the end of the weekend. so that hazy sky you see near atlanta, for instance, is a direct repercussion of the wildfires that are ongoing. how many? 83 large, active fires we're battling at the moment. that's across 13 u.s. states and amongst the backdrop of a major exceptional drought. 95% of the western u.s. under drought conditions. red flag warnings continue. we have states of emergency issued for some counties across northern california. heat dome building through the course of the week across the central united states. this means temperatures are going to soar. we're talking about the upper 30s, that equates to temperatures in the triple digits for our domestic viewers. now on the other side of the world, this is the western pacific, we're monitoring two different tropical disturbances. this one is a typhoon. it just reached strength across the east china sea. it is threatening shanghai and points to the south. 120 kilometer-per-hour sustained winds, equivalent to a low-end

car category-one hurricane. the last thing they need is flash flooding considering the flooding that's ongoing or that has happened recently across that part of the world. the other storm that we're monitoring is a tropical storm over the open waters of the western pacific. in is this -- why is this important? it's got a v line to tokyo and the central portions of japan. all eyes on this region with the ongoing olympics taking place. will this bring impacts to the venues there? time will tell. we've got a lot of details to iron out in the days to come. >> and if it does get over there, i tell you what, the olympics can't catch a break. derek van dam, thank you so much. that wraps this hour of "cnn newsroom." i'm alison kosik. you can follow me on twitter and instagram at allisonison kosik. i'll be back with more news.

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and swelling. could your story also be about ibs-c? talk to your doctor and say yess to linzess. the delta variant fueled a surge in u.s. covid-19 cases as frustration at those not yet vaccinated begins to boil over. we'll ask are maverick mandates back on the table. >> a blaze of light opens the tokyo olympics. as events get under way a look at how teams are