The meteorological service said that Moscow is experiencing its warmest December day in recorded history, preventing bears at the zoo from hibernating, according to AP. A warm spell is sending residents out without coats and coaxing mushrooms out of the ground in nearby forests. Moscow"s meteorological service said Thursday the temperature rose to 10 degrees Celsius (50 Fahrenheit), balmy for a city famous for winter snow and ice. The average winter temperature is minus 4 degrees Centigrade (24.8 Fahrenheit). State television reported that bears at the Moscow zoo are unable to hibernate. Moscow drivers are complaining about losing the metal studs on their snow tires on the snow-free asphalt. Experts said, cautiously, that the anomaly is caused by global warming. «Perhaps, these records are related to natural climate changes, but one should not deny human influence on the climate,» meteorologist Dmitry Kiktyev was quoted as saying Thursday in the newspaper Komsomolskaya Pravda. By Sunday temperatures are expected to drop to 0 Centigrade (32 Fahrenheit).
