Moscow Hit by Record Heat Wave
Pastor Dale Morgan
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May 31, 11:36 PM EDT
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Moscow Hit by Record Heat Wave*
By MANSUR MIROVALEV
Associated Press Writer
MOSCOW (AP) -- The five hottest days in the city's recorded history
could be summed up by a single image: an ice-cream truck stuck in melted
asphalt on a Moscow street.
Russians, well prepared for the winter, were caught by surprise by the
unprecedented stretch of hot weather as the mercury climbed to the high
80s and 90s, triggering minor power failures, causing sunstrokes and
leading to a spate of drownings.
Muscovites flocked to the city's lakes, ponds and canals, not all of
them considered safe for swimming. Fully-clothed people were seen
jumping in fountains - a minor transgression by Russian law - but the
police were told to ignore them until the weather cools down.
At least 28 people drowned in Moscow in May, including 17 in the last
week alone, said city emergency department spokesman Yevgeny Bobylyov.
Another 104 people were rescued.
Detentions for public drunkenness spiked as people consumed "copious"
amounts of beer in an attempt to deal with the heat, said Moscow
regional police spokesman Kirill Sharov.
Heat strokes have also sickened 16 people, four of them children, since
Monday, the Moscow Health Department told Russian news agencies.
"It feels like Arizona," said tourist Jeffrey McLain, a construction
engineer from Flagstaff, Ariz. "I never thought I would swelter in Moscow."
One group seemed to be suffering more than others: the Russian Orthodox
clergy, with their compulsory beards, heavy robes and hats. But they
were determined to withstand the heat.
"We have to get used to it," said Father Artyomii, a bespectacled priest
sporting a black woolen cassock and a high crowned hat. "The church
allows no exceptions even for this weather."
Sales for beverage and ice-cream vendors have increased two- and threefold.
"I just sold out the third refrigerator with ice-cream and cold drinks,"
said street vendor Tatyana Prilepina, whose kiosk sits near historic Red
Square. "Got only ice tea left, and folks keep on coming and coming."
Energy consumption soared as people cranked up air conditioners at homes
and in offices, causing 14 transformer stations to burn out in the
Moscow area, the city's electric company said.