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Snow-free parties. This is what Muscovites experience, who spend an extraordinarily hot winter. Result: the authorities of the Russian capital decided to pile up the little snow that fell in the city on the main avenue to give the Russians a taste of Christmas.
With our correspondent in Moscow, Paul Gogo
More than 140 years since the capital of Moscow had not experienced such a warm winter. The first snow traditionally falls from October and lasts until April, but this winter, nothing but rain.
The temperature drops painfully below zero degrees, the sidewalks are covered with salt, but the snow still does not appear. The ice in the rinks is cracked and the cross-country skis are stored in the apartments.
“ I have always known the New Year with snow and now there are kinds of cataclysms which mean that we have no more snow. It's sad because it brings a kind of magic. Without snow, it is difficult to have a party atmosphere , ”regrets Alexander, a Muscovite.
The Russians celebrate Orthodox Christmas the first week in January, but it is Christmas Eve that is preferred by families to get together. Traditionally, people turn on the television at midnight to watch the Kremlin clock strike.
Read also: Russia has its hottest year on record
This year, the municipality, which usually spends millions to make the snow disappear, decided to recover the few flakes that fell on the city's ice rinks and pile them up on the main avenue in Moscow. Objective: to create a Christmas atmosphere at the time of the midnight fireworks.
" Yes, it's weird not having snow, it's the second year that it has happened ," says Alina, a young Muscovite. I think it's because of ... what's its name ? Global warming . "
Tuesday evening, the weather forecasted heavy snowfall for Christmas Eve. With the thermometer above zero, the Muscovites will have had only rain.
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