1.
CU: rain on puddle, PULL BACK TO GV: park area in Moscow; PAN TO trees.
0.11

2.
GV: park PAN AND ZOOM IN TO CU: buds on trees.
0.27

3.
CU: buds PULL FOCUS TO CU buds.
0.34

4.
CU: raindrop on twig PULL FOCUS TO buds
0.42

5.
CU PAN: buds on twig
0.48

6.
CU: raindrops and buds on twigs.
0.53

7.
MV ZOOM INTO CU: buds on bushes.
1.00

8.
CU: buds PULL FOCUS TO CU: buds
1.04

9.
GV: traffic along street ZOOM INTO woman at bus stop.
1.12

10.
GV PAN: people walking through recreation area.
1.18

11.
MV: man on park bench reading paper.
1.22

12.
GV: people walking along Moscow street.
1.26



Initials RH/1830



Script is copyright Reuters Limited. All rights reserved

Background: Western areas of the Soviet Union, including the capital of Moscow, have been experiencing exceptionally mild weather in the past two weeks with temperatures far higher than normal for this time of year. Meteorologist say this type of weather is so rare that it occurs only twice in a century.

SYNOPSIS: Normally at this time of year Moscow is shrouded in snow and faced with the prospect of freezing temperatures for the next four or five months. This year however, the situation has been different and the parks of Moscow bore witness to a rare phenomenon -- the first signs of Spring. The first frost of winter was late in coming, and the unnaturally warm weather affected the city's vegetation. Buds were springing up on trees which normally stand bare.

The temperature in Moscow in normally about 5 degrees centigrade lower than that recorded in late November, a fact which has intrigued the local weathermen who say that the same thing occurs only once in 50 years. Nor has the warm weather been restricted to Moscow alone. In fact a similar anomaly has been recorded in all European parts of the USSR. In the Urals and Wester Siberia, temperatures have been 10-12 degrees higher than normal.

For once Moscow's streets were ice free, and the traffic moved freely. The unexpected warm weather clearly brought a seasonal change for the city's eight million people who are normally well prepared for the cold. Parklands and playgrounds were free of snow and Muscovites could enjoy certain pleasures normally reserved for the warmer months.